The Whitworth women’s tennis team traveled to California on Friday with high hopes of a win in their first NCAA tournament appearance.
“We went in expecting to win, but we kept talking about how even if we didn’t, it was still an amazing experience," freshman Mya Towne said. “It was disappointing, but they were a much stronger team that we expected.”
The women were prepared to face their opponent, the University of Texas at Tyler Patriots. The Patriots had an 18-8 season record and went 5-0 in the American Southwest Conference.
Whitworth lost all three doubles matches. Freshman Alli Marshall and junior Rachel Burns were defeated 8-2, Towne and senior Linh Aven lost 8-5 at No. 2 doubles and sophomore Katie Staudinger and senior Justine Hays had the led in No. 3 doubles at 6-5, but Texas – Tyler won the last three games to take the match 8-5.
“We were going in with the mindset that we had to win 5 singles out of the 6. We’re good at doubles but we’re more of a singles team, so we thought we could pull it out,” Towne said. “We tried to stay positive, even thought it was disappointing.”
In the tournament, the teams play until one team has won 5 sets. Down 0-3 the next two matches would determine the Pirate’s fate.
Burns was defeated by Beth Launius 6-0, 6-1. Aven was the next to finish at No. 3 singles and her 6-2, 6-0 loss to Texas- Tyler’s Lauren Nielson concluded the match and the season for the Whitworth Pirates.
“We had an amazing season, it was ridiculous how well we did. We exceeded every expectation we had for ourselves,” Towne said. “It’s awesome to end the season going to nationals, even though we lost.”
Contact Kara Heatherly at kara.heatherly@whitworthian.com.
traveled to California on Friday with high hopes of a win in their first NCAA tournament appearance. They came away defeated 5-0, ending their record season.
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Women's tennis' record season ends after defeat in first round
Published: Monday, May 11, 2009
Updated: Monday, May 11, 2009 11:05
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