No. 18 Sewanee crushes Linfield, 9-0
Wednesday, 03/13/2013
CLAREMONT, Calif. – Despite putting forth a valiant effort in doubles action, Linfield found itself simply outmatched against the country’s 18th-ranked club, as The University of the South came away with a 9-0 neutral-court victory Sunday on the campus of Pomona-Pitzer.
“We competed hard today and put ourselves in good position with our doubles play,” said head coach Amy Dames Smith, “but eventually Sewanee outplayed us and displayed why they’re one of the top teams in the nation.”
Members of the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference, the Sewanee Tigers (6-2) earned sweeps in both doubles and singles to win their fifth 9-0 match of the season. The Wildcats meanwhile, dropped their second straight contest, both coming against nonleague opponents, and slipped to 4-6 on the year.
Undaunted by Sewanee’s national ranking, Linfield took it to the Tigers early on, particularly in the second and third flights. After Bronte Goodhue and Anne Garland handed Gretchen Jernstedt (Soph., Wilsonville, Ore.) and Lexi Thomas (Sr., Redding, Calif.) an 8-2 defeat at No. 1 doubles, the remaining two victories were achieved by much smaller margins.
Julia Wood and Annie Veron edged Caroline Brigham (Jr., Eagle, Idaho) and Kwynn Ecton (Fr., Fort Collins, Colo.) by a score of 9-7, while Tegan Flynn and Liz Lucas held off Kelly Watanabe (Soph., Kirkland, Wash.) and Kaila Nip (Soph., Lahaina, Hawaii) 8-6.
Once singles play began, however, Sewanee rolled, dropping just 15 games across six flights and winning four sets by a 6-0 score.
Goodhue blanked Thomas 6-0, 6-0 at No. 1 singles, Jenny Liles downed Brigham 6-2, 6-1 in the second flight and Veron topped Nip by a count of 6-2, 6-2. Garland put away Ecton 6-0, 6-4 at the No. 4 position, Wood defeated Watanabe 6-0, 6-2 and Kate Johnston helped make it a clean sweep for the Tigers with her 6-1, 6-1 victory over Jernstedt.
COMING UP: Northwest Conference action resumes with a trip to Tacoma, Wash., to take on Puget Sound. Friday’s match is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m.
