Will Hermens

The men’s tennis team finished the season on a strong note, ending with a 16-7 overall record and placing third at the Northwest Conference Championships on April 17 and 18.
“We had a very successful season,” head coach Carl Swanson said.
Entering April 18 on a four-game winning streak, the team wanted to continue to play and carry momentum through postseason play. The team wanted to set the tone for the entire championships.
“The goal in the first match is to be as focused and as efficient as possible,” Swanson said.
Linfield played against the University of Puget Sound in the first match. The ‘Cats’ began powerfully with a sweep in the doubles matches. Sophomore Brett Kingzett and freshman Walt James started as the No. 1 doubles team, winning 8-4. The No. 2 team of junior Kyle Anderson and sophomore Tal DeWitt followed with an 8-6 victory, and the No. 3 team of seniors Nick Ruess and Matt Kauffman won 8-4.
“We had 11 guys in the lineup against UPS, and everyone got an opportunity to contribute,” Swanson said.
Even though 11 players participated against Puget Sound, only two singles matches finished early April 18. James and sophomore Mark Magdaong won easily, giving Linfield a 5-0 match advantage. Because of the weather, time constraints and a decisive lead, the final four singles matches ended unfinished, and the team next faced Pacific Lutheran University.
“You have to win close matches to get to the championship,” Swanson said.
Swanson said he knows that no team can breeze through the conference championships. He expected a battle from Pacific Lutheran. In the first doubles match, Linfield’s No. 1 team lost 8-0. However, the team bounced back with a pair of wins. Magdaong and freshman Ward van Mens won 8-3, and Anderson and DeWitt won 8-4. Linfield could not win in any singles matches, however, going 0-5 with one match unfinished.
“Guys got behind early and did not hit the reset button,” Swanson said.
Pacific Lutheran started fast and strong in singles, and Swanson said that Linfield needed to reorganize the mindset and regroup. After winning two of three doubles matches, the team had momentum going into the singles matches. The momentum changed sides. Linfield competed well in three singles matches. Swanson said wins in those three would have ended in victory.
In the other three matches, Linfield did not compete well and fell behind. At the end of the April 18 action, a 6-2 loss to Pacific Lutheran put Linfield in the third-place match April 19 against Willamette University.
“I had some doubts because I consider them [Willamette] a dangerous team,” Swanson said.
After defeating Willamette twice in the regular season, the team anticipated to continue supremacy, but stumbled in doubles matches, losing two of three entering singles play. In the No. 1 singles match, Anderson played well, but lost, 7-5, 6-4, to Willamette senior Andrew Murakami.
Despite the loss, the team finished in a dominating style, winning the final five singles matches for a 6-3 win. The victory gave Linfield a 16-7 overall record and 15-4 conference record. The teams’ record this year placed it near the top of the school’s record book for overall and conference wins. Swanson was pleased with the way the team finished solidly in the final match. After a record-setting season and a significant core of experienced players returning, Swanson expects the top of the lineup to be solid, and a team to return to form next season ready to take the conference by storm. Especially for the three seniors, Nick Ruess, Luke Rembold and Alex Smith, he expressed his gratitude by complementing the three on their performances in the program.