By: Cody Wright
SPOKANE, Wash. – The Whitworth women's tennis team will close the 2026 regular season on the road this weekend. The Bucs will play Puget Sound on Saturday at 11:00 am before heading south to battle Willamette at 10:00 am on Sunday.
Check the Whitworth women'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: Whitworth (12-6 overall, 10-2 NWC) earned its third Northwest Conference home sweep of the season with a pair of wins last weekend.
The Pirates downed George Fox 6-1 on Friday. After taking the doubles point, the Bucs won five of six singles matches, led by Josie Kellogg who earned a dominant 6-0, 6-0 win in the No. 6 position. Faith Kert and Paige Oliver earned a pair of two-set wins before Olivia Corbett closed with a three-set win on the No. 5 court.
On Saturday's senior day, Whitworth downed Lewis & Clark 4-3 in a highly competitive match. The River Otters fought to claim the doubles point before the Bucs responded with four singles wins. Corbett, who was celebrated prior to first serve, grabbed a three-set win in her final match at Scotford Tennis Center. Kert dominated in the No. 2 position and Kellogg remained unbeaten in conference play with a comeback three-set win of her own. Audrey Judson dropped her first set but came back to win the next two and clinched the match win for Whitworth.
The Opponents: Puget Sound heads into this weekend with a 3-14 overall record and 3-9 mark in conference play. The Loggers fell in a pair of road matches at George Fox and Willamette last weekend. Kaylee Yamada is the top singles player for PS and pairs with Pearl Buck on the top doubles court. Frances English holds the No. 2 singles spot. The Pirates took down the Loggers 6-1 on March 7 in Spokane.
Willamette is 3-12 overall and 2-9 in conference matches. The Bearcats are coming off a 5-2 win against Puget Sound and will host Whitman on Saturday before Sunday's finale against Whitworth. Alexa De Crinis holds the No. 1 singles spot for the Bearcats and pairs with No. 2 singles player Reese Beyrouty on the top doubles court. The Bucs defeated Willamette 6-1 earlier this season on March 8 in Spokane.
The NWC Race: Whitman (12-0) has clinched the 2026 regular season title and will host the NWC tournament on April 18-19. Whitworth (10-2) has solidified the two spot. Lewis & Clark and Pacific are each 7-5 and fighting for third. George Fox (6-6) is looking to make a jump into the fourth and final tournament spot in the final weekend.
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 94-91 during her tenure, including a 60-41 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 compete in the NWC women's tennis tournament on April 18-19, hosted by Whitman, for the fifth time in the last six years.
