Will Hermens
For the Review

With three conference wins last week, the men’s tennis team will compete for the last time April 11 at Linfield before the conference championships.
“The guys feel good about the three straight wins,” head coach Carl Swanson said. “A lot of guys got into the lineup and were able to contribute.”
After losing four conference matches in March, twice to Whitman College and two matches during a Spring Break road trip to Texas, the team beat George Fox and Whitworth universities as well as Lewis & Clark College in lopsided matches, pushing the team record to 13-6 overall and 12-3. In the process, the men’s team compiled the fifth straight regular season with 10 or more wins and eight of the last nine seasons.
“I felt our guys responded appropriately according to the circumstances,” Swanson said. “The No. 1 and 2 doubles teams came up with big shots on the big points.”
The team defeated Whitworth April 4 at Linfield. The ’Cats won all three doubles matches with adjusted doubles pairings. Sophomore Mark Magdaong and freshman Ward Van Mens played as the No. 1 doubles team winning with a nail-bitter, tiebreaker 9-8. After an intense No. 1 doubles match, the No. 2 doubles team of sophomore Brent Kingzett and freshman Walt James fought off the Pirates’ No. 2 doubles team. The Kingzett and James match eclipsed the No. 1 match, ending in a tiebreaker 9-8.
After two hard-fought doubles matches in the beginning, the team turned to junior Kyle Anderson and sophomore Tal DeWitt for a strong performance, 8-6 in the last doubles match.
The three wins seized any momentum for Whitworth University and Linfield cruised to an 8-1 victory as a result five straight singles match wins. Anderson, playing in the No. 1 singles match, captured a decisive win, 6-1, 6-4, to start the singles matches. Van Mens followed with the knockout match, defeating Whitworth’s Joe Wales 7-6 (2), 7-6 (4) to secure a Linfield victory.
In the April 5 match against Lewis & Clark College at Linfield, the doubles matches had modest drama throughout. The doubles combination of Magdaong and Van Mens made quick work as the No. 1 doubles team, winning 8-1. Kingzett and James followed with an 8-2 victory, and seniors Tal Edman and Alex Smith finished the doubles matches with an 8-4 victory.
“The difference was Kyle [Anderson] beat their No. 1 singles player. Kyle got revenge on a really good player,” Swanson said.
At the start of singles matches, Anderson began strong, taking the first set 6-1 with ease against Lewis & Clark’s freshman Vincent Groot. Groot, however, came back to win the second set, 6-3, setting up the third and decisive set. After breaking Groot’s serve, Anderson won the third set 6-4. Anderson’s second set was the only set dropped against Lewis & Clark College. Senior Nick Ruess, Walt James, senior Matt Kauffman, senior Luke Rembold and junior Matt Levering all scored singles match victories, giving Linfield a 9-0 win.
The team finished the weekend in third place in the Northwest Conference standings, behind Whitman and Pacific Lutheran University. Linfield hopes to pass PLU in the standings but will need to win this weekend and hope the Lutes’ drop both matches this week against the University of Puget Sound and conference leader Whitman.
“We want to play this match with the same focus and intensity we want to bring to the conference championship matches,” Swanson said.
Linfield plays the final home match of the year against Pacific University April 11 at 11 a.m. The team will then have a week of practices before traveling to Yakima, Wash., to compete in the Northwest Conference Championships.