Salem, Ore. – The Willamette Bearcats women's tennis team played two dual matches against Whitman College on Saturday, falling to the Blues 6-1 and 7-0.  Willamette fought hard throughout both matches but Alicia Sola was the lone Bearcat to find victory.

In the opening dual, the doubles matches proved to be a tough opening for Willamette. All three pairings – Thompson/de Crinis, Suzuki/Lief, and Spencer/Tarrab – faced strong opposition, falling with scores of 6-0, 6-2, and 6-0, respectively.

In the singles matches, Alicia Sola provided a much-needed highlight for the Bearcats. Sola battled fiercely in her number six singles match against Kaylah Tan, ultimately securing a thrilling victory after a back-and-forth contest that culminated in a 10-point tiebreak, winning 6-4, 4-6, 1-0 (11-9). Elsewhere in the singles competition, Alexa de Crinis put up a valiant fight against Whitman's Teleya Blunt in a tightly contested three-set match, narrowly losing 3-6, 6-2, 1-0 (10-7) after a close tiebreak. 

While it didn't result in any match wins, the Bearcats continued their determined play in the second dual match of the day.  The team improved their scores across all three doubles matches and performed well in the opening sets across all six singles matches before ultimately falling in straight sets to the Blues.

The Bearcats return to action at home on Sunday, March 30th, when they host Whitworth University.  The match is scheduled to start at 10:00 am.

MATCH ONE

Doubles

Jin Yu/Teleya Blunt (Whitman) defeated Ruby Thompson/Alexa de Crinis (Willamette), 6-0

Ilina Jha/Sascha Wells (Whitman) defeated Richelle Suzuki/Eva Lief (Willamette), 6-2

Arianna Castellanos/Bailey Bell (Whitman) defeated Sofia Spencer/Marie Tarrab (Willamette), 6-0

Singles

Teleya Blunt (Whitman) defeated Alexa de Crinis (Willamette), 3-6, 6-2, 1-0(10-7)

Ilina Jha (Whitman) defeated Richelle Suzuki (Willamette), 6-1, 6-0

Jin Yu (Whitman) defeated Eva Lief (Willamette), 6-1, 6-0

Sascha Wells (Whitman) defeated Sofia Spencer (Willamette), 6-0, 6-0

Bailey Bell (Whitman) defeated Ruby Thompson (Willamette), 6-1, 6-1

Alicia Sola (Willamette) defeated Kaylah Tan (Whitman), 6-4, 4-6, 1-0(11-9)

MATCH TWO

Doubles

Arianna Castellanos/Nana Vang (Whitman) defeated Ruby Thompson/Alexa de Crinis (Willamette), 6-3

Teleya Blunt/Sascha Wells (Whitman) defeated Richelle Suzuki/Eva Lief (Willamette), 6-2

Erica Mock/Ilina Jha (Whitman) defeated Sofia Spencer/Marie Tarrab (Willamette), 6-2

Singles

Nana Vang (Whitman) defeated Alexa de Crinis (Willamette), 6-3, 6-2

Arianna Castellanos (Whitman) defeated Sofia Spencer (Willamette), 7-5, 6-2

Erica Mock (Whitman) defeated Eva Lief (Willamette), 6-2, 6-0

Bailey Bell (Whitman) defeated Ruby Thompson (Willamette), 6-1, 6-0

Jules Thompson (Whitman) defeated Grace O'Steen (Willamette), 6-4, 6-0

Piper Rylander (Whitman) defeated Marie Tarrab (Willamette), 6-4, 6-2