By: Cody Wright
SPOKANE, Wash. – The Whitworth University men's tennis team will take a spring-break trip to Texas for three non-conference matches against fist-time opponents next week. The Pirates visit LeTourneau on Monday at 1:00 pm PST), East Texas Baptist on Tuesday at noon, and Mary Hardin-Baylor on Wednesday at 2:00 pm.
Check the men's tennis schedule for live updates on next week's action.
The Pirates: Whitworth (3-7 overall, 3-6 NWC) dropped a pair of challenging matches last weekend.
The Pirates opened the second half of the Northwest Conference schedule with a 6-1 loss to Whitman on Saturday. The Blues took the doubles point and five of six singles matches. Matt Hossack and Easton Weir earned a 6-4 win in the No. 3 doubles to prevent a doubles sweep. Ryan Ashley and Hossack each battled to third-set singles matches but did not come away with a win. Landon LaBrie secured the lone Pirate point with a win by retirement in the No. 6 position.
Whitworth hosted a rematch against Lewis-Clark State College on Sunday and fell 6-1. The Pirates honored their two seniors as Lance Dunn and Emmanuel Nguyen each played in their first singles matches of the season. Dunn and Nguyen also competed as the No. 3 doubles duo and fell 6-3. Ryan Ashley claimed a point for the Bucs with a 1-6, 7-5, 6-1 three-set comeback win in his first competition in the No. 1 position.
The Opponents: LeTourneau hosts Whitworth with a 4-6 record, but will play three matches before the Pirates arrive in Longview. The Yellowjackets are led by No. 1 singles player Zach Ferris, who has a 5-5 record in dual matches this season. Freshman Andrew Reiman competes in the No 2. position and has a team best 6-3 record. Ferris and Fernando Vasquez pair as the top doubles duo.
East Texas Baptist has a 4-2 record on the season and will also play a trio of matches over the weekend, including one against NWC foe Pacific. The Tigers have had four different players compete in the No. 1 singles position. Junior Sam Black has competed in a team-high three matches in the top spot with a 1-2 record. Freshman Jaco Snyman is 2-2 in the No. 2 position. Black pairs with junior Max Karseno as the Tiger's No. 1 doubles duo.
Whitworth wraps up the trip with a match at Mary Hardin-Baylor on Wednesday. The Crusaders are 3-6 and on a three-game losing streak heading into this weekend. Freshman Marcus Diaz Torres is the No. 1 singles player for the Crusaders despite having an 0-6 record in that slot. Freshman Sam Eli is 2-1 in his past three matches in the No. 2 position. Eli and senior Nicolas Cusano pair as top doubles duo.
NWC Standings: Whitman stayed a perfect 8-0 in conference play to remain in first place. George Fox (7-1) stayed in second while Lewis & Clark (6-3) and Pacific are tied for third. Whitworth (3-6) is in fifth with Linfield (2-6), Puget Sound (2-8) and Willamette (0-8) trailing.
The Coach: Daniel Redfern is in his second year as Pirate head coach after working as an assistant since 2019. In his first season, he led Whitworth to a 3-4 NWC record (5-13 overall). Redfern was a two-year standout for the Pirates, earning first team All-conference honors in 2011 and 2012 after transferring to Whitworth.
Looking ahead: The Pirates will return to Spokane to host Pacific (Ore.) and Eastern Washington on March 29th before Willamette visits on March 30th.
