2008 Woodie Awards
Tennis looks to clinch NCAA tournament berth
Issue date: 4/25/08 Section: Sports
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The Leathernecks head into the tournament as the No. 1 seed after completing regular season play with a 6-0 league record and winning their first regular-season conference championship. Western enters the tournament on a nine-match winning streak, not dropping a match in more than a month of play.
The Leathernecks face No. 4 seed IUPUI in a 9 a.m. first-round match Friday. Western recorded a 4-0 win over the Jaguars March 29 in Kansas City, Mo. The Leathernecks took the doubles point with wins from the No. 2 doubles team of senior Martin Boström and junior Sean Ragee-Nelson and the No. 3 doubles team of freshman Francisco Ortiz and senior Michael Tiu.
In singles play, junior Neil Lesinski (No. 3), Ragee-Nelson (No. 5) and junior Andy Jones (No. 6) all recorded wins.
The other semifinal match features the No. 2 seed, Oral Roberts the defending tournament champion against the No. 3 seed UMKC. The Golden Eagles defeated the Kangaroos, 4-1, in the first conference cluster.
The Westerwinds posted a league record of 5-3 during the regular season, which earned them the No. 4 seed in the tournament. Western squares off against the No. 1 seed Oral Roberts Friday, at 11:30 a.m. ORU ran the table in regular-season league play with an 8-0 record.
The Westerwinds dropped a 4-2 decision to the Golden Eagles April 20 in Fort Wayne, Ind. Sophomore Amanda Griffin defeated Emily Arkell, 6-1, 6-2, while sophomore Ashley Clark beat Tayler Pippen, 7-5, 6-4, to earn Western's two points of the match.
The No. 2 seed IPFW battles the No. 3 seed Southern Utah in the second women's semifinal on Friday. The Mastodons earned a narrow 4-3 victory over the Thunderbirds during regular-season league play April 5.
- Western Illinois University
Athletics Media Services
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