WALLA WALLA, Wash. – The Lewis & Clark College women's tennis team earned the No. 3 seed and will make its first Northwest Conference Championships appearance since 2023 this weekend in Walla Walla. The River Otters will face No. 2 seed Whitworth University in the second semifinal on Saturday.
FOLLOW LIVE
Whitman College Athletics will provide live video and live stats coverage of the tournament.
THE MATCHUP
No. 3 Lewis & Clark (11-7, 9-5 NWC) vs. No. 2 Whitworth (14-6, 12-2 NWC), 4 p.m. Postseason matches are played until one team reaches four points. The team that wins at least two of the three doubles matches earns one point, and each singles match counts for one point.
PREVIOUS MEETINGS
Feb. 28 – Whitworth 6, Lewis & Clark 1
Senior
Susanna Anand provided the River Otters' lone point with a 6-2, 6-0 win at No. 1 singles. Whitworth took control early by sweeping all three doubles matches and secured the team victory by winning five of six singles contests. The Pirates clinched the fourth point with three-set wins at No. 2 and No. 4. Lewis & Clark competed across the lineup, with juniors
Charlotte Makoni and
Maya Curry each forcing three sets, but Whitworth closed out the remaining courts to hand the River Otters their first conference loss of the season.
April 4 – Whitworth 4, Lewis & Clark 3
The River Otters earned the doubles point behind wins from Anand and junior
Emma Loucks at No. 1 and Makoni and sophomore
Madi Vianzon at No. 3. Whitworth responded by winning four of six singles matches. Anand recorded two victories, including a three-set comeback at No. 1 singles to secure her 50th career singles win. Curry added a three-set win at No. 3 to tie the match at 3-3. The Pirates clinched the match when Audrey Judson defeated junior
Anna English in a third-set tiebreak at No. 4.
POSTSEASON MEETINGS (1999-2024)
Since the NWC introduced its team tournament format in 1999, Lewis & Clark and Whitworth have met five times in postseason play, most recently in 2016. Whitworth holds a 3-2 edge in those matchups, with wins in the 2004 seventh-place match (6-3), the 2010 semifinal (5-0) and the 2012 semifinal (7-2). Lewis & Clark won semifinal meetings in 2013 (5-2) and 2016 (5-0).
SCOUTING THE RIVER OTTERS
Lewis & Clark earned the No. 3 seed for the first time since 2019 and returns to the postseason after missing the 2024 tournament. The River Otters have won five of their final seven conference matches, including a 7-0 victory over Pacific in the regular-season finale.
Anand finished the regular season with an 11-2 NWC record at No. 1 singles. First-year
Alex Mignogna enters the tournament on a three-match winning streak at No. 5. Curry and English have each won their last two matches at No. 3 and No. 4 singles, respectively.
In doubles, Anand and English are 5-2 at No. 1 since pairing midway through conference play. Makoni and Vianzon hold a 5-1 record at No. 3, while Curry and Mignogna are 5-3 at No. 2.
SCOUTING THE PIRATES
Whitworth is making its fifth NWC Tournament appearance in six years. Its only conference losses came against top-seeded Whitman.
The Pirates feature four players with at least 10 NWC singles wins. Josie Kellogg went 14-0 in conference play at No. 5 and No. 6 singles, while Audrey Judson lost just once at No. 4. Paige Oliver (10-4) and Faith Kert (11-2) each recorded at least 10 wins in the top two spots.
In doubles, Judson and Olivia Corbett posted a 12-2 NWC record at No. 3. Whitworth's other two doubles teams each finished 8-4 in conference play.
ELSEWHERE IN THE BRACKET
In Friday's first semifinal, No. 4 George Fox will face top-seeded and host Whitman at 1 p.m. Whitman swept the Bruins during the regular season, earning a 7-0 win in Newberg and a 5-2 win at home. Whitman is ranked No. 32 nationally and No. 6 in the West Region.
WHAT'S NEXT
The winners of Saturday's semifinals will meet in the 2026 Northwest Conference Championship match at noon on Sunday.
