Tyler Morrill

Sports editor

Over Spring Break, many students hope to get the opportunity to travel. Most would love to go somewhere warm, but instead they get stuck at home.

Linfield athletic programs took advantage of the days off from school. Teams got a chance to travel all over the West Coast and go up against challenging competition in warmer weather.

The softball team was able to beat up on some California teams and evaluate its perfomance in the season when it went to the Sun West Tournament.

The team found success after losing in the first game of the tournament to Wellesley College, 2-1, only its second loss of the season. The ’Cats went on to win the rest of their games, showing their powerful offense with a 12-0 win over Williams College; a 16-10 victory over Elmhurst College, and a strong 4-0 win to beat No. 15 ranked Chapman University.

The team continued its stay in California with a batch of games against schools in Redlands.

The ’Cats did well in this matchup, outscoring Cal State-East Bay, 34-1, in a double header on March 27.

Also during break, both tennis teams got a chance to get out of the cold weather.

The men’s team went to Arizona to take on a pair of community colleges. In its first match against Scottsdale Community College, Linfield lost in a close competition, 5-4.

The next day the men were able to balance their trip with a strong 8-1 win against Glendale Community College.

The trip was brief, but it will surely benefit the team as it comes back for the remainder of its Northwest Conference schedule.

The women’s tennis team also traveled to California for a pair of matchups.

The ’Cats were unable to muster a victory, but they had some strong play against both University of California, Santa Cruz and Hardin-Simmons Colleges, which traveled all the way from Texas to play.

For a team, traveling for Spring Break is rejuvenating and pumps a little energy into a long season. The pleasant change in weather also gets athletes excited to play.

Breaking up the monotony of a season is always a good thing and having fun hanging out on road trips with the team builds chemistry.

All these athletes have picked up something valuable in competing against teams they don’t usually face.

It’s a good thing to play against several different styles in preparation for playoffs. That way, teams will not be caught off guard when the pressure is on in a playoff game.