WALLA WALLA, Wash. – Sixteenth-ranked Whitman remained unbeaten in Northwest Conference women's tennis with a 7-2 win over visiting Whitworth on Sunday afternoon.

The league-leading Missionaries improved to 13-3 overall and 10-0 in the NWC.  The Pirates fell to 6-8, 5-5 but remain alive in the hunt for a Northwest Conference tournament berth.

Whitman owned a 3-0 lead after doubles play as Courtney Lawless and Alyssa Roberg rolled at No. 1, defeating Saryn Mooney and Taylor Pena 8-1. Morgan Lawless and Maddy Webster teamed for an 8-3 victory over Megan Wingfield and Morgan McDivitt at No. 2. Extra games were needed at No. 3 where Whitman's Katrina Allick and Kate Rubinstein bested Jessi Steele and KC McConnell 9-7 in a thrilling match.

Whitworth's McDivitt and McConnell both engineered comebacks to score the Pirates' two victories. At #5 singles McDivitt dropped the first set to Rubinstein 1-6 before battling back to take the second 6-1 and then the tiebreak 10-3.  At the No. 6 slot, McConnell lost the first set to Kate Kunkel-Patterson 4-6, then grabbed the second 6-3 and like her teammate, won the tiebreaker 10-3.

Whitworth will host Puget Sound (Friday) and Pacific Lutheran (Saturday) in a pair of matches that will go a long way in determining the final spots in the NWC tournament.  The Pirates can still finish anywhere between third and sixth place.