TACOMA, Wash. - The Pacific Lutheran University women's tennis team continues its six-match homestand on Saturday, welcoming in-state rival Whitworth University to the Sprinker Recreation Center.
The Lutes (3-2) are coming off a successful weekend of competition taking down the Community Colleges of Spokane 8-1 and Willamette University 6-3. The Lutes swept singles play against Spokane in a dominant performance. Willamette was a good test but the Lutes proved too much to handle for the Bearcats. This time around, the Lutes swept doubles play showing the teams versatility.
The Lutes are off to a hot start to their spring season winning their last three matches.
"Some contributing factors to the success of our team at the start of our season has been our focus on mental toughness and focusing on more our doubles play to help set us up for success in singles," said team captain Hannah Jefferies. "We also have a very strong team bond and know that we are all there to help each other both on and off the courts, which really helps us in match settings. It is exciting to see that the work we have put in is starting to pay off."
Hannah Jeffries hails from Chehalis Washington where she attended Centralia High School. Last season she competed in the No.1 singles and No.1 doubles slots for the Lutes. In the classroom, she is a biochem major with a minor in language.
As Jefferies enters her third season as a member of the Lutes tennis team she is now a team captain. She talked about her role on the team, "As a team captain, I view my role as a supportive and encouraging role, helping everyone to have fun at practice as well as being a positive influence and role model. My favorite part about being on the team would be the friendships I have made with my teammates, and the chance to get a break from the stresses of school while we are all together, whether it is practice, a match, or a team-bonding activity."
The Whitworth Pirates are coming to Tacoma with a 1-4 record on the season. Their most recent match resulted in a win against the Community College of Spokane.
Jefferies told us what the Lutes are looking for this weekend saying, "A successful match against Whitworth would be us playing at the level we know we can and to play our game. For us, we consider success to be ending each match knowing we did our best, gave everything we have, and had fun while doing it."
Action begins this Saturday at 1 p.m. in Sprinker Rec Center.
