By: Cody Wright
SPOKANE, Wash. – The 2026 spring women's tennis season is off and running for this year's Whitworth squad. After last weekend's season opener, the Pirates will host an exhibition against Eastern Washington on Friday at 5:00 pm before jumping into Northwest Conference play at Whitman on Saturday at 2:00 pm.
Check the Whitworth men's tennis schedule page for live links to this weekend's match.
Watch on FloCollege: All of Whitworth's home and Northwest Conference athletic events will be streamed through FloCollege in 2025-26. Fans can sign up to watch Pirate sports on the FloCollege portal. Registration is $108 for an annual subscription or $20 per month. Those who register with a .edu email address get a significant discount.
The Pirates: Whitworth (0-1) opened the season with a 7-0 loss to NAIA opponent Lewis-Clark State College last weekend. The Warriors won two doubles matches and all six singles matches. Audrey Judson and Olivia Corbett came away with the Pirates' first win of the season, beating the LCSC No. 3 doubles pairing 6-3. Paige Oliver won her first set in the No. 1 singles position before falling in three sets. Josie Kellogg made her Whitworth debut and battled to a narrow 7-6 (7-3), 7-5 loss in the No. 6 position.
The Opponent: Eastern Washington (3-3) comes into this weekend already having played six official matches, including a 6-1 win over common opponent LCSC on January 24th. The Bucs haven't played the Eagles since 2022, and the match will serve Whitworth well in preparation for conference play.
Whitman comes into this spring following an NWC championship and trip to the NCAA tournament a season ago. The Blues opened their season with a 7-0 loss to Trinity, the same team who defeated them in the first round of the NCAA tournament. They had five all-NWC honorees last season and returned just one, sophomore Nana Vang. Whitman now retools with a young team of five first-year players coached by 2025 NWC Coach of the Year John Hein. Whitworth has lost the last six matches against Whitman, including a 4-0 loss in the 2025 NWC Tournament semifinal.
The Coach: Rachel Aldridge is in her 12th year as Whitworth's head women's tennis coach after serving as an assistant from 2012-2014. The Pirates have a dual record of 82-86 during her tenure, including a 50-39 mark in Northwest Conference matches. Aldridge was a four-year standout player at Whitworth and earned first-team All-NWC honors each of her four years. She was selected by conference coaches as the NWC Sportswomen of the Year in 2011 and named NWC Player of the Year in 2011.
Looking ahead: The Whitworth women will continue the first round of conference play with home matches against Pacific (Ore.) on February 21st and Linfield on February 22nd.
