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New head women’s tennis coach aims to win conference

Posted by :Troy Thomas On : September 10, 2013
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an off-note, Linfield’s women’s tennis team has high hopes and expectations for their new head coach this season, and vice versa.

Lisa Macy-Baker, Linfield’s new NCAA Compliance Officer and head women’s tennis coach, has spent the last 12 years working as both a special education teacher and a women’s tennis coach at Mountain View High School in Bend, Ore., McMinnville High School and Duniway Middle School in McMinnville.

“So far Lisa is well liked by our team,” junior Gretchen Jernstedt said in an email. “I think she will bring some fresh ideas and plans, while also staying open to our feedback.”

Macy-Baker was “born and bred” in McMinnville and has been playing tennis competitively since her freshmen year of high school. Macy-Baker considers it her “first love” in regards to sports.

“I took my first private lesson from Linfield’s number one tennis player at the time,” Macy-Baker said.

Macy-Baker grew up in McMinnville and later attended Oregon State University after receiving a full-ride basketball scholarship. She played basketball her freshmen year, but quit due to the lack of support she received from her coaches while they were under investigation for violations.

“I learned a lot from that experience and it helps me now as a coach,” Macy-Baker said. “I know that I want to make sure my freshmen are well supported and well taken care of.”

Macy-Baker plans to meet with freshmen players on a weekly basis to ensure they are receiving the necessary support to succeed—not only on the courts, but in the classroom as well. Other plans for the six-week fall season include player performance evaluations, spring season preparation and outdoor practices as often as possible before the rainy season.

“Our long-term plans are to maintain the excellence that has been this program,” Macy-Baker said. “Last year was a bit of an off year…But [if] you look at the history, they have won the conference [title] six out of the last 10 years.”

Practices are scheduled everyday from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. She has also planned various 6:00 a.m. conditioning sessions and time for weight lifting. According to Jernstedt, this year’s practice schedule is slightly different than last year’s.

The women’s tennis will play their first preseason tournament in late September, and will have various inter-squad matches throughout the season.

Macy-Baker also plans to have the team participate in McMinnville’s Runtoberfest, a community run on Oct. 5 that raises money for the McMinnville Education Foundation.

“We want to optimize the team experience,” Macy-Baker said. “Tennis is often viewed as an individual sport, but the way it’s set up at this level, it is truly a team sport.”

Samantha Sigler / Editor-in-Chief

Samantha Sigler can be reached at LinfieldReviewEditor@Gmail.com

 

Enter the title

Posted by :Samantha Sigler On : May 26, 2013
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Linfield students participates in the UFO Festival on May 16 and 17. Junior Alex Lazar, sophomores Brianna Epstein, Katie Krieger and Megan Beach attend the UFO Parade (close right).

Body of article.

 

Samantha Sigler / Editor-In-Chief

Samantha can be reached at linfieldrevieweditor@gmail.com

Senior inspires young tennis team to improve during season

Posted by :jprokop On : April 18, 2013
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With one more match to go, the Linfield men’s tennis team has struggled through the season, posting a 0-12 record. This record can be attributed to a young team, with only two seniors, including Zach Lyons.

Lyons has played for four years at Linfield College and has been with the team through thick and thin. His freshman year, the team placed second in conference with an overall record of 13-7.

“I had always played a little tennis off and on when I was a kid, but I got serious about it when I started high school,” Lyons said. “It was a good choice for me because I was too small to play football, and I was tired of all the running in soccer. So, I figured hitting the crap out of some tennis balls would be fun.”

Each successive year the team has performed worse, dropping to a 6-8 record in 2011, 2-17 record in 2012 and now posting a 0-12 record.

Despite the losing trend, Lyons has done well, earning all league honorable mentions as a junior.

“My favorite memory was probably last year during our fall tournament where my doubles partner and I were playing a tough team, tensions were pretty high, but we were able to beat them,” Lyons said. “For the very last point, I hit one of our opponents in the face to end the match. It was purely accidental, but it was an epic way to end the match.”

Now as a senior, Lyons has a different role. As the team’s number one singles player for the majority of the matches and a member of the number one doubles duo, Lyons is forced to play the top competition in the conference, while leading by example for the young team. Senior Kadin Hashimoto also stands as a role model for the young team, but only has one year of experience.

“It’s different, though, that it’s just Kadin and I because I was on the team when there were five seniors who all started at the same time and graduated together,” Lyons said. “Since I’m the only one who has been on the team for all four years, I don’t get to experience that.”

Lyons currently posts a 1-10 singles record and a 5-7 doubles record.

Lyons looks to improve on his season marks April 28, while the team looks for its first win of the season in Pasadena, Calf., against Cal Tech.

This will be the last match for the senior and the last match of the year for the Wildcats’ tennis team. The competition starts at 1 p.m.

“Some of my best friends have come from this team,” Lyons said. “You learn a lot of things in team sports, and I think I learned many lessons that can be applied on and off the court.”

 

Chris Haddeland/Senior reporter

Chris Haddeland can be reached at linfieldreviewsports@gmail.com.

 

Wildcats swing in final regular season win

Posted by :jprokop On : April 18, 2013
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Senior Lexi Thomas goes in for a poach at the net against Rachel Heringer and Stephanie Matsuura in a 9-8 (7-2) number two doubles victory against Willamette University with partner sophomore Gretchen Jernstedt on April 12. The Wildcats won the match 8-1 against the Bearcats. Tyson Takeuchi/Senior photographer

Senior Lexi Thomas goes in for a poach at the net against Rachel Heringer and Stephanie Matsuura in a 9-8 (7-2) number two doubles victory against Willamette University with partner sophomore Gretchen Jernstedt on April 12. The Wildcats won the match 8-1 against the Bearcats.
Tyson Takeuchi/Senior photographer

The women’s tennis team ended its last regular season tournament with a home victory. Linfield finished with an 8-1 win against Willamette on April 12 at the Linfield Tennis Center.

Prior to the match, the sole senior, Lexi Thomas, was honored.

The Wildcats won all but one of the singles matches.

Junior Caroline Brigham took down the Bearcats’ Denise Poltavski in both sets, 6-3, 6-2. She was the winner of both number one matches.

Freshman Kwynn Ecton beat the Bearcats’ Stephanie Matsuura winning the sets 6-3, 6-2.

Sophomore Kelly Watanabe defeated Mandy Carlson, 6-1, 6-1.

Sophomore Gretchen Jernstedt won against Lizzie Kubitz, leaving her scoreless in the first set 6-0 and winning the second set 6-2.

Sophomore Kaila Nip won her match by default due to an injury to an opposing team’s player.

In doubles, the Wildcats swept the competition.

Brigham and Ecton both won their second victories in the number one match of the night, beating the Bearcats’ Sabrina Gutierrez and Denise Poltavski.

Jernstedt and Thomas had a tight match against the Bearcats, having to rally to tie the game and then gained a win with a final point, 9-8.

Nip and Watanabe also had a win, 8-1.

The Wildcats record improved from 6-5, 7-9 to 7-5, 8-9. They stand in fifth for the conference.

The Wildcats will next compete at the Northwest Conference Tournament on April 20.

 

Ivanna Tucker/Sports editor

Ivanna Tucker can be reached at linfieldreviewsports@gmail.com.

 

Men’s tennis fails to gain win in final conference match

Posted by :jprokop On : April 18, 2013
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Sophomore Lukas Kleinman hits the ball back to his opponent during the match against Willamette University on April 12. Kleinman won his singles match, 10-7. Photo courtesy of Sports Information

Sophomore Lukas Kleinman hits the ball back to his opponent during the match against Willamette University on April 12. Kleinman won his singles match, 10-7.
Photo courtesy of Sports Information

The Linfield men’s tennis team ended its conference season in familiar fashion, losing 7-2 to Willamette on April 12.

Sophomore Micah Roos and freshman Tim Hawkins collected a doubles victory for the ‘Cats with a score of 8-5. This was the third victory of the year for Roos and Hawkins as a duo.

“Tim and I both do a good job of motivating each other and not letting the other person get down,” Roos said.

In singles play, the Willamette No.’s 1-5 dispatched their Linfield adversaries with ease. Linfield No. 6 sophomore Lukas Kleinman did score a 3-6, 6-3, 1-0 (10-7) victory to help the ‘Cats avoid a clean singles sweep.

When asked about his response after dropping the first set, Kleinman said, “This was the first time I have ever lost the first set and come back to win so I had to battle through the thoughts of another comeback cut short.”

“Honestly, I struggled…the entire match, I’d beat him earlier this year so I knew I could beat him…When it came down to the tiebreak, my serve was unstoppable,” he added.

With the loss, the team’s record fell to 0-12 for the year.

The only remaining game on the schedule is against Cal Tech on April 28 in Pasadena, Calif.

With his thoughts on next season, Kleinman said, “We know that nothing is going to come easy. Next season starts April 29, the day after our last match.”

Linfield will lose its No. 1, senior Zach Lyons, to graduation, and sophomore Joel Trousdale will not play next year as he goes to Spain to study abroad. Everyone else on the roster, barring injuries or transfers, should return next season.

“We all had quality wins this season and instead of focusing on our overall record, we should build off what we did accomplish. We all know we have potential,” Roos said.

Kleinman echoed similar sentiments.

“The effort has been there all year…We have a lot of high character guys who have the skill set to be very solid players in this conference, and we definitely have the coaching, he said.

“There will be no excuses for not improving next year.”

 

Tyler Bradley/Sports columnist

Tyler Bradley can be reached at linfieldreviewsports@gmail.com.

 

 

’Cats split conference matches

Posted by :jprokop On : April 8, 2013
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Tyson Takeuchi/Senior photographer Freshman Kwynn Ecton serves in doubles against Lewis & Clark opponents Lisa Oespyan and Isabella Borris en route to a 8-4 victory.

Tyson Takeuchi/Senior photographer
Freshman Kwynn Ecton serves in doubles against Lewis & Clark opponents Lisa Oespyan and Isabella Borris en route to a 8-4 victory.

Women’s tennis, in matches April 5 and 6, first lost a home-court match to Lewis & Clark College, 8-1, then redeemed itself in an away game against Pacific Lutheran University, winning 6-3.

Inside, due to bad weather on Friday, the ’Cats lost two of their three doubles matches early on, leaving sophomores Kelly Watanabe and Kaila Nip on the No. 3 court to win the only point of the afternoon for Linfield in their doubles match against the Pioneers.

Linfield recently lost a match to Lewis & Clark in a 7-2 match March 22.

“We played very well,” sophomore Katie Krieger said. “We weren’t really expecting to win against a team ranked second, but we did our best and we were happy with our level of commitment.”

At the Pacific Lutheran campus Saturday, women’s tennis was ready to make up for the loss of the day before and played its hardest, winning by the three points it needed to compete for the No. 4 position in the Northwest Conference.

“I knew it was going to be a close match,” said sophomore Gretchen Jernstedt, who won her singles match on Saturday. “I tried not to think too much while I was playing because putting more pressure on myself might have affected how I was playing.”

The team, which was down 2-1 after the doubles matches, did not let the score discourage it going into the singles matches, when Jernstedt, Watanabe, Nip, junior Caroline Brigham and senior Lexi Thomas all won against Pacific Lutheran.

“The bus ride back was really fun. It’s always good bonding with the team, and it was even better since we were excited that we accomplished our goal,” Jernstedt said.

Next up for the Wildcats is a home match against Willamette University on April 12.

“Right now we’re in the number four spot,” Krieger said. “We still haven’t played Willamette, but we’re excited and confident going into that match.”

Linfield played Willamette earlier this season, winning 7-2 against the Bearcats.

After the match against Willamette, the Northwest Conference Tournaments will begin the weekend of April 20 and 21, and they will continue the weekend of May 10 and 11.

Olivia Marovich/Staff writer

Olivia Marovich can be reached at linfieldreviewsports@gmail.com.

 

Women’s tennis snatches two more wins

Posted by :jprokop On : March 27, 2013
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The women’s tennis team won two matches against George Fox on March 19 with a score of 6-3, and against California Lutheran on March 23 with a score of 6-3 again.

However, it was no match against Lewis and Clark, losing 7-2 March 22.

“This season has been tough for us, as we have been playing some talented teams,” freshman Emily Erbin said in an email. “We have been struggling with our line up and trying to figure out the best double teams and single line up.”

During the latest tennis match against California Lutheran, junior Caroline Brigham and freshman Kwynn Ecton won with 8-4 in their doubles match, and sophomores Kaila Nip and Kelly Watanabe won 8-2.

All of the six singles flights were in straight sets, with Linfield winning four of those matches.

Nip won 6-2 and 6-1 at number three singles, and Ecton won 6-1 and 6-1 in the fourth flight.

Sophomore Gretchen Jernstedt finalized the match for the Wildcats with a win of 6-0 and 6-1.

“For my next match, I know I need to play my game and play smart tennis,” Erbin said. “This has been a year of learning filled with hard work and determination.”

The Wildcats next play at home, hosting Lewis and Clark on April 5.

Samantha Sigler/News editor

Samantha Sigler can be reached at linfieldreviewnews@gmail.com.

Wildcats fall in tight match against Loggers

Posted by :jprokop On : March 21, 2013
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The women’s tennis team lost a tight match against the University of Puget Sound Loggers on March 15, losing 5-4.

The Wildcats got off to an early lead after doubles play taking two of the three matches. Sophomore Gretchen Jernstedt and senior Lexi Thomas took the number one doubles matchup, 8-5.

“In doubles, my partner Gretchen and I were able to come together and not give up,” Thomas said. “Some of our games took 10-15 minutes just to complete, but we knew that this was our match to win.”

Junior Caroline Brigham and freshman Kwynn Ecton lost a tightly contested number two doubles matchup, losing after a tiebreaker, 8-9 (1-7).

“For doubles, I wasn’t as aggressive as I have been in past matches,” Ecton said. “If I was more aggressive the outcome would have been different.”

Sophomores Katie Krieger and Kaila Nip took the final doubles match for the Wildcats, winning, 8-5.

The Loggers bounced back from their early deficit, taking four of the six singles matches, edging out the Wildcats in the final match up of the day.

The first three singles matches were all close, each match going to three sets.

Puget Sound’s Maddie Thiesse defeated Thomas in the number one singles match, 6-1, 2-6 and 6-4.

“Individually, I was able to place the ball more into the court, whereas the past few weeks I’ve been consistently hitting the ball three inches off the singles sideline,” Thomas said. “Also, I was able to control my anger more and not get frustrated after every shot I missed.”

Brigham won in the number one singles spot for the ’Cats. After dropping the first set 4-6, the junior bounced back taking the next two 6-1 and 7-5.

The Loggers took three of the other four singles matches, defeating Nip in the number three slot 6-3, 2-6 and 7-5, Ecton in the number four position 6-2, 6-3 and Krieger in the number six matchup 6-4, 6-3.  Jernstedt took the number five singles match with a win over the Logger’s Josephine Dow, 7-5, 4-6 and 7-5.

The loss drops the Wildcats’ record to 4-7, 4-3 in Northwest Conference play, while the Loggers improve to 5-3 overall and hold the same mark in conference.

The Wildcats’ next match is in Newberg, Ore., to play the George Fox Bruins at 3 p.m. March 19.

“We came back from behind in a lot of our singles matches, which was good, but it wasn’t enough to win the match as a whole,” Brigham said. “For our next match against George Fox, we just need to play confidently with a lot of energy to help us take control of the match.”

Chris Haddeland 

Senior reporter

Chris Haddeland can be reached at

linfieldreviewsports@gmail.com.

 

Men’s tennis faces two more losses, 6-3

Posted by :jprokop On : March 21, 2013
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Sophomore Micah Roos swings at the ball during a match against Puget Sound University on March 15. Roos won his double match with freshman Tim Hawkins, 9-8. Tyson Takeuchi/Senior photographer

Sophomore Micah Roos swings at the ball during a match against Puget Sound University on March 15. Roos won his double match with freshman Tim Hawkins, 9-8.
Tyson Takeuchi/Senior photographer

The Linfield men’s tennis team remained winless during the weekend, losing 6-3 to Puget Sound University and George Fox University on March 15 and 16.

The two losses dropped Linfield’s record to 0-9 for the season with just three conference games remaining.

The battle with Puget Sound did produce positive results from freshman Tim Hawkins. Hawkins dispatched Puget Sound’s Jake Peterson 6-4, 6-4 and also teamed up with sophomore Micah Roos for a 9-8 doubles victory. The two victories were the first of Hawkins’ collegiate singles and doubles career.

“It was an amazing feeling. It was a huge sigh of relief to finally win a doubles and singles match,” said Hawkins about his first collegiate victories.

Hawkins said his first serve was particularly effective in his doubles match, which helped set up Roos for simple finishes. In his singles match, Hawkins said his forehand was in good shape and it helped dictate the points.

Roos, the Linfield No. 2, provided the other victory against Puget Sound, winning 5-7, 7-5 and 10-8. Puget Sound’s Michael Cutter beat Linfield senior No. 1 Zach Lyons in a three set match, 1-6, 6-3 and 6-4.

With the victory, Puget Sound collected its first NWC victory of the season, which leaves Linfield as the only NWC team with a zero in the win column this season.

When asked about the overall team loss, Hawkins said, “We were pretty disappointed…we all want to win overall. I think that loss will act as motivation to continue working hard to get our first win of the season.”

Saturday’s tussle with George Fox saw Linfield win two of the three doubles matches. Roos and Hawkins teamed up again for an 8-4 victory against George Fox’s Justin McClain and Matt Deming. In the No. 1 doubles slot, Lyons and sophomore Lukas Kleinman rebounded from their 9-7 doubles on Friday and defeated their Saturday adversaries, 8-6. Kleinman continued his success against George Fox with a 6-3, 6-4 singles victory in the No. 4 slot against Chace Stalcup.

The tennis team does not have a match next week because of spring break. Its  next match is April 5, and it sends the team to Portland to play Lewis & Clark (3-7, 3-5 NWC). Linfield played Lewis & Clark earlier this year and lost 7-2. Linfield has different doubles partnerships (Roos/Hawkins, Lyons/Kleinman) this time around so Lewis & Clark will see a different Linfield squad. Hawkins is confident Linfield can beat them this next time around.

“We are going to win,” Hawkins said. “We went into our first meeting with them expecting an easy match. Now we know what to expect. We are more experienced now as a team, and we really want a win so I think that we have a good shot at beating them.”

Tyler Bradley

Sports columnist

Tyler Bradley can be reached at

linfieldreviewsports@gmail.com.

 

Small returning team shows potential during first match

Posted by :jprokop On : March 10, 2013
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With nine returning members and a total team of 12, this is one of the smallest teams women’s tennis has seen in a few years.

“Typically we have two teams, but we didn’t have enough members this year to split in two,” sophomore Katie Krieger said. “It’s nice to have everyone on one team, practicing together, because we can see each other play and grow as a team.”

In the past, red and purple teams have divided competing and non-competing members. However, with the smaller numbers this year, a combined team has allowed all members the opportunity to compete.

“With a smaller team, we can get more individual attention from our coaches and improve as players,” Jernstedt said in praise of her team.

With two coaches, head coach Amy Dames Smith and assistant coach Brint Kingzett, the players will certainly get the support they desire.

“We have two amazing coaches. They’re both really helpful and have definitely led to my improvement these past two years,” Krieger said.

With one player back from an injury and another cleared after suffering from bronchitis, this weekend looks like it could turn out to be the comeback the Wildcats need to propel them toward the league championship.

The team fought for its first wins while at  home Feb. 23 and 24. The Wildcats defeated Whitworth University, 5-4 on Feb. 24 and George Fox University 7-2 on Feb. 23.

Women’s tennis hosted Pacific Lutheran University in its second league match of the season Feb. 15. A close loss at 4-5 marks a rocky season for the experienced team. This fourth match of the season is its fourth consecutive loss.

Even so, there is still hope that the season will turn around soon.

“Our first two matches [against Portland State and Santa Cruz] don’t count toward our league championship chances so there is still time to improve and have a great season,” sophomore Gretchen Jernstedt said.

 

Olivia Marovich/ Staff writer

Olvia Marovich can be reached at linfieldreviewsports@gmail.com.