By: Cody Wright
SPOKANE, Wash. – Whitworth women's tennis heads to Oregon this weekend looking to build off a pair of dominant home wins. The Bucs visit Lewis & Clark on Saturday before heading to George Fox on Sunday. Both matches are set to begin at 11:00 am.
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 (2-2 overall, 2-1 NWC) cruised to two NWC wins last weekend, the first being a 6-1 win over Pacific (Ore.) on Saturday. Olivia Corbett and Audrey Judson clinched the doubles point for the Bucs with a 7-6 (7-5) tiebreaking win. The Pirates won five of six singles matches, with Josie Kellogg providing the most dominant win (6-1, 6-0) in the No. 6 position.
On Sunday, the Bucs wrapped up the weekend with a 7-0 sweep of Linfield. Whitworth swept doubles and won five of six singles matches in two sets. Judson and Kellogg both held their opponents to zero set points. Hannah Wells played in her first match of the season and came away with a 6-0, 6-1 win.
The Opponent: Lewis & Clark is 5-1 overall and holds a 3-0 NWC record heading into this weekend. Last week, the River Otters beat Puget Sound 7-0 and Willamette 6-1. The Otts are led by first team All-NWC player Susanna Anand, who is 5-0 from the No. 1 singles spot this season. Anand pairs with No. 2 singles player Charlotte Nakoni as the top doubles duo. Whitworth split its two matches with L&C last season.
George Fox (2-2, 2-1 NWC) defeated Willamette and Puget Sound by a score of 6-1 last weekend. The Bruins will host Whitman on Saturday prior to Whitworth visiting on Sunday. They are led by first team All-NWC honoree Riley Bobkiewicz and second team player Shanah Denham, who play in the top two singles spots and make up the top doubles duo. GFU holds a four-match winning streak over the Bucs, with Whitworth's last win coming in 2022.
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 84-87 during her tenure, including a 52-40 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 return to Spokane to host Puget Sound and Willamette on March 7-8.
