SPOKANE, Wash. –  The Whitworth men's tennis squad has an opportunity to clinch a spot in the 2026 Northwest Conference tournament with a pair of wins this weekend against George Fox on Saturday and Lewis & Clark on Sunday. Prior to the trip, the Pirates will host a rematch against Lewis-Clark State College at 2:00 pm. Saturday and Sunday's matches will begin at 11:00 am.

Check the Whitworth men's tennis schedule page for live links to this weekend's matches.

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: The Bucs (9-4 overall, 8-2 NWC) earned their second conference home sweep of the season last weekend.

Whitworth took down Pacific (Ore.) 6-1 on Saturday. After claiming the doubles point, the Pirates won five of six doubles matches. Three of the five wins came in three sets, including a 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 win from Ryan Ashley and a 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 win from Matt Hossack. Matthew Morrison and Henry Preacher each cruised to two-set wins.

On Sunday, the Pirates came out on top of a back-and-forth battle with Linfield 4-3. The Wildcats claimed the doubles point with a pair of wins on the No. 1 and No. 2 courts. Whitworth responded with four singles wins to secure the win, with Matt Hossack earning a 6-2, 2-6, 6-1 three-set win to clinch the victory. Hossack and Preacher both extended their singles match winning streaks to four.

The Opponents: NAIA opponent Lewis-Clark State College is 6-7 overall this season heading into its rematch against the Pirates. The midweek match may provide an opportunity for several Whitworth players to see the court who aren't usually in the lineup. The Warriors have won ten straight matches against the Bucs, including a 7-0 sweep on February 6.

George Fox is 7-7 overall and 6-4 against conference opponents. The Bruins carry a two-match win streak into this weekend after beating Willamette and Puget Sound last weekend. They are led by Zach Moore and Keita Shoji, who play in the top two singles positions. Aiden Cruz joins Moore as the top doubles pairing. Whitworth beat George Fox for the first time since 2016 on March 1 by a score of 6-1.

Lewis & Clark (7-7, 7-2 NWC) is riding a five-match winning streak into this weekend. The River Otters will host UC Santa Cruz on Friday before Whitworth visits on Saturday. Kaden Sigurdsson and Noah Sutin have split time in the No. 1 singles position. Sutin has an 8-0 record in the No. 2 spot and pairs with Kai Wills in the top doubles position. The Bucs beat L&C 5-2 earlier this season on February 28 for the first time since 2016.

The NWC Race: Whitman (9-0) controls first place with Whitworth (8-2) in second. Lewis & Clark (7-3) and George Fox (6-4) have a chance to make a jump this weekend with a win over Whitworth. Pacific (5-5) and Linfield (5-6) are hoping to make a jump into the top four in the final two weekends.

The top four teams in the NWC standings will earn a spot in the NWC Tournament. The tournament will be hosted by the regular season champion.

The Coach: Daniel Redfern enters his third season as head coach of the Whitworth men's tennis program in 2025-26. He holds a 20-31 overall record and 17-14 Northwest Conference mark. Redfern was a two-year standout player for the Pirates, earning first team All-Northwest Conference honors in 2011 and 2012 after transferring to Whitworth from Skagit Valley College.

Looking ahead: The Whitworth men return to Spokane to host Puget Sound and Willamette on April 11-12 in the final home matches of the season.