WALLA WALLA, Wash.—Senior Wade McDermott and first year Kaden Sigurdsson each went 2-0, but #3 Lewis & Clark College men's tennis fell just short against #2 Whitworth University in the Northwest Conference Tournament Semifinals. 
 
THE BASICS 
 
#2 Whitworth 4, #3 Lewis & Clark 3
(Lewis & Clark 9-11) 
(Whitworth 13-6) 

HOW IT HAPPENED
 
The River Otters won the doubles point and added wins at first and fifth singles, but Whitworth captured the other four singles flights, to earn a spot in Saturday's NWC Championship Match. Friday's contest marked the final collegiate contest for seniors Landon Cronin, Spencer Loucks, Kai Wills and McDermott. 
 
Lewis & Clark raced out to a strong start on Friday.
 
After being tied up at 1-1, Sigurdsson and Loucks won three-consecutive games at second doubles to grab a commanding 4-1 lead. The duo would eventually defeat Whitworth's Matthew Hosack and Easton Weir 6-3 in just over 30 minutes. 
 
Lewis & Clark captured the doubles point less than five minutes later. McDermott and sophomore Arnav Bishnoi won the first three games of their third doubles match against Ryan Ashley and Matthew Morrison. The Pirates pair would aim to make a comeback, but McDermott and Bishnoi posted a 6-4 win to give the River Otters a 1-0 advantage. 
 
In the lone match of the day to go unfinished, junior Noah Sutin and Wills were in a back-and-forth contest at first doubles. The duo held serve through the first eight games and were tied with Whitworth's Matthew Froslan and Henry Preacher 4-4 when the match was called. 
 
Whitworth evened the match score when they earned the first win in singles play. Preacher defeated Sutin 6-1, 6-2 at second singles to tie the score at 1-1. 
 
Sigurdsson put Lewis & Clark back ahead just over a minute later. The first year dominated Morrison 6-0, 6-0 to give the River Otters a 2-1 lead. 
 
The Pirates evened the score for a second time at third singles. Ashley outlasted Wills 6-3, 6-4 at third singles to tie the match at 2-2. 
 
Whitworth took their first lead of the match at sixth singles. Hossack defeated junior Bridger Galyardt 6-1, 6-3 at sixth singles to make it 3-2. 
 
McDermott responded with a big win at fifth singles. He fell behind Froslan 5-3 in the first set but responded by winning four-straight games to take the set 7-5. McDermott was in a tight second-set as well but closed by winning the final three games to defeat Froslan 7-5, 6-3. 
 
The match came down to fourth singles between Bishnoi and Whitworths' Connor Judson. Judson rushed out to a 3-1 lead in the first set and while Bishnoi cut the deficit to one game twice, Judson would eventually a 6-3 set win. Bishnoi earned the early lead in the second set (3-1) but Judson turned the tide and earned a 6-3, 6-3 win. 
 
BY THE NUMBERS 

• Sigurdsson and Galyardt each made their collegiate postseason debuts on Friday. 
• With his two wins on Friday, McDermott closes out his career with 99 victories. 
• Bishnoi notched his team-leading 16^th doubles win of the year (16-9) against Whitworth. 
• Sigurdsson, who was named the NWC Rookie of the Year on Thursday, closes out his first season with a 26-17 record. He went 13-8 in singles (second-most wins on the team) and 13-9 in doubles (fourth-most wins). 

WHAT'S NEXT
 
Friday's match marked the end of the 2025-26 men's tennis campaign. The River Otters anticipate returning six players for the 2026-27 season.