Saturday morning, the Whitman Women’s Tennis team took to the courts against Pacific University. By the afternoon, the men’s team took over and completed a hugely successful day for the tennis program as a whole. Together, the men and women swept Pacific’s team 18-0.
The women’s team, ranked 16th nationally, won each of their nine individual matches to improve to 12-3 on the season and remain undefeated in conference.

Maddy Webster ’15 (left) and Morgan Lawless ’15 strategize between points. Whitman women beat Pacific 9-0 at Saturday’s match. Photos by Halley McCormick.
The day got off to an impressive start with each doubles team winning handily. First-years Kate Rubinstein and Katrina Allick took down their opponents 8-1 before senior Alyssa Roberg and sophomore Courtney Lawless followed with an 8-2 victory. Sophomores Morgan Lawless and Maddy Webster rounded out the doubles stage with an 8-4 win.
The team carried the momentum from its doubles victories into dominant singles play. Even after the team’s victory had been clinched, first-year Jenna Dobrin fought back from a tough first set to complete the sweep. After losing 4-6, Dobrin overcame her opponent 6-2 and 10-5.
The men’ team, ranked 15th in the nation, continued their conference dominance by rolling to a 9-0 team victory highlighted by dominant individual performances top to bottom.

James Rivers ’15 hits a backhand toward a Boxer opponent. This was Rivers’ first appearance in match play after an injury earlier in the season. Whitman men beat Pacific University 9-0 at Saturday’s match.
The doubles stage of competition was showed the program’s depth and development, with wins by pairs of sophomores, juniors, and seniors. Seniors Matt Tesmond and Sam Sadeghi overcame a rough start to win 8-6 against Pacific’s top doubles team. Juniors Any Riggs and Steven Roston followed suit with an 8-1 win against Pacific’s number two team. Sophomores Colton Malesovas and James Rivers made quick work of the number three doubles with an 8-2 victory.
Whitman’s men then went on to win all six singles matches including 6-2,6-3 and 6-1, 6-1 victories from Will Huskey and Alex Noyes, respectively. Huskey and Noyes were dominant in the number five and six games, finishing up a strong the day.
Next weekend both teams will look to maintain their success in conference by taking on the University of Puget Sound and Pacific Lutheran University.