Willamette Women's Tennis Team Opens Season against NCAA Division I University of Portland

PORTLAND, ORE. The Willamette University womens tennis team opened the 2007 season with a 7-0 loss to the University of Portland on Saturday, Jan. 27, at UPs indoor courts. The Pilots, who compete in NCAA Division I, improved to 3-1 on the season. Willamette, a member of NCAA Division III, was playing its first match of the season.

The teams used NCAA Division I scoring, so Portland picked up a single point in the team standings by sweeping all three doubles matches. Willamettes #1 doubles team of Tiffany Kam (Jr., Pearl City, HI/Punahou School) and Alaine Anderson (Jr., Santa Ana, CA/Foothills HS) lost to Lindsey Griffin and Audree Jenks of Portland, 8-2. The Pilots swept #2 and #3 doubles by 8-0 pro-set scores.

At #1 singles, Kam lost to Griffin, 6-2, 6-1. Willamette won at least one game in each singles match, but Emily Elliott (Fr., Woodside, CA/Woodside Priory) provided the only strong challenge in the second set of her #6 singles match against Katie Kennel. Elliott performed well during the set, before falling to Kennel, 6-4. Kennel won the first set, 6-0.

We had some high points in every match, and the girls are ready to work hard, since we have a conference match in three weeks, WU Head Coach Becky Roberts said.

Willamette will return to action on Saturday, Feb. 17 with home matches against Whitworth College at 12 p.m. (PST) and against Southern Oregon at 6:30 p.m. (PST). All of the action is set for the Courthouse Tennis Club at 1339 Madison NE in Salem, Ore.

The Whitworth match will open Northwest Conference play for the Bearcats. The meeting with SOU will be a non-conference match.

Singles
#1 - Lindsey Griffin (UP) defeated Tiffany Kam (WU), 6-2, 6-1
#2 - Christina Feyen (UP) defeated Rebecca Younger (WU), 6-0, 6-1
#3 - Megan Sporndli (UP) defeated Alyssa Morrison (WU), 6-1, 6-0
#4 - Audree Jenks (UP) defeated Alaine Anderson (WU), 6-1, 6-0
#5 - Anna Gullickson(UP) defeated Anna Funabiki (WU), 6-1, 6-0
#6 - Katie Kennel (UP) defeated Emily Elliott (WU), 6-0, 6-4

Doubles
#1 - Griffin and Jenks (UP) defeated Kam and Anderson (WU), 8-2
#2 - Kennel and Sporndli (UP) defeated Younger and Funabiki (WU), 8-0
#3 - Gullickson and Feyen (UP) defeated Morrison and Elliott (WU), 8-0

Records: University of Portland, 3-1; Willamette University, 0-1