Whitman, Ranked #27, Downs Bearcats 9-0 in NWC Women's Tennis Opener

Mikaila Smith (Sr., Mill Valley, CA/Tamalpais HS)

February 18, 2018

Team Stats

Game Statistics	Whitman College	Willamette
Score	9	0

Doubles

Hill, Mary / Greenberg, Hanna def. Smith, Mikaila / Pashek, Robin 8-5
Gu, Andrea / Sheng, Lori def. Dean, Sarah / Marr, Sylvia 8-4
Redkina, Anastasiya / Pak, Kattie def. Ginsburg, Siena / Gjurasic, Alexis 8-0

Singles

Gu, Andrea def. Smith, Mikaila 6-3 , 6-3
Hill, Mary def. Pashek, Robin 6-2 , 6-1
Greenberg, Hanna def. Dean, Sarah 6-4 , 6-0
Redkina, Anastasiya def. Marr, Sylvia 6-0 , 6-1
Sheng, Lori def. Ginsburg, Siena 6-0 , 6-0
Gilbert, Jenna def. Andres, Hannah 6-1 , 6-0

By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications

SALEM, Ore. -- Willamette University fell to 27th-ranked Whitman College 9-0 in a Northwest Conference women's tennis match on Sunday, Feb. 18 at the Salem Tennis and Swim Club. The Blues improved to 2-3 overall and to 1-0 in the NWC. Whitman also is ranked #6 in the West Region. Willamette dropped to 2-1 overall, 0-1 in the NWC.

Mikaila Smith (Sr., Mill Valley, CA/Tamalpais HS) and Robin Pashek (Fr., The Dalles, ORThe Dalles-Wahtonka HS) from Willamette provided strong opposition at #1 doubles, but lost to Mary Hill and Hanna Greenburg, 8-5. Whitman's team of Andrea Gu and Lori Sheng downed Sarah Dean (Fr., Boise, IDTimberline HS) and Sylvia Marr (Fr., Grants Pass, OR/Hidden Valley HS) of Willamette in the #2 doubles match, 8-4. Anastasiya Redkina and Kattie Pak took the #3 doubles match against Siena Ginsburg (Fr., Bend, OR/Summit HS) and Alexis Gjurasic (Jr., Olympia, WA/Capital HS), 8-0.

Smith of Willamette battled Gu in the #1 singles match, but couldn't catch Whitman's top player. Gu held off Smith by a 6-3 margin in both sets. At #2 singles, Hill of Whitman defeated Pashek, 6-2, 6-1. In the #3 singles match, Greeenburg won for the Blues against Dean in a close first set, 6-4, and then took the second set, 6-0. Redkina, Sheng and Jenna Gilbert earned straight-set victories for Whitman at #4, #5 and #6 singles, respectively.

"Obviously, it's never fun to lose by such a big margin, but I can definitely say that I am very proud of my team," Willamette Head Coach Bryce Parmelly said. "We competed hard and didn't shy away from the battle at any point. If we can turn what we learned today into productive practices moving forward, then I call it a success."

Willamette is scheduled to host George Fox University in a non-conference match-up of NWC rivals on Wednesday, Feb. 21 at the Salem Tennis and Swim Club. Match time is set for 4 p.m. (PST). The Bearcats will play another non-conference match against an NWC opponent on Sunday, Feb. 25, when Willamette plays at Lewis & Clark College. The game at L&C is slated to begin at 11 a.m.