Four Named Women's Tennis All-Americans, Two Scholar-Athletes
(May 23, 2005) - Four Westmont women have received national recognition for their skills on the tennis court. Senior Jennifer Goebel of Castle Rock, Colorado; junior Jenny Renfer of Monterey, California; sophomore Lorelei Belindean of Vancouver, Washington and freshman Masako Horino of Kanazawa, Japan were each named to the 2005 NAIA Women's Tennis All-American second team. Goebel and Renfer were also named NAIA All-American Scholar Athletes.
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| Jennifer Goebel
| Jenny Renfer
| Lorelei Belindean
| Masako Horino
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Goebel earned a singles record of 18-6 playing at number four and teamed up with Renfer at number one where they posted a record of 8-12. Renfer is a kinesiology major with a GPA of 3.67. Goebel graduated earlier this month with a degree in communications and a 3.65 GPA.
Belindean played at number three singles for the Warriors, achieving a record of 17-6. She and her partner Gillian Ayres compiled a record of 11-6 playing at both number two and number three doubles. Horino, the Warrior's number two singles player, notched a 14-10 record in singles and a 10-8 record with her doubles partner Jennie Dunn.
Women's Tennis Ousted By #1 Auburn Montgomery
(May 17, 2005) - #15 Westmont Women's Tennis (16-11) became the 24th straight victim this year of the defending champion and number one ranked Auburn Montgomery Senators (Ala.) in the second round of the NAIA Women's Tennis National Championship held in Mobile, Alabama. The Senators' international lineup proved to be too much for the Warriors who lost by a score of 5-0.
The Senators (24-0) took control of the match by sweeping the three doubles matches. At number one, Jenny Renfer and Jennifer Goebel lost to Nadia Lysak of Belarus and Gedvile Norkute of Lithuania 8-1. Lorelei Belindean and Gillian Ayres lost by the same score to Suheil Lizana of Chili and Nathalie Sienkob, AUM's lone American, on court three. At number two, Jennie Dunn and Masako Horino were defeated 8-0 by Aina Rafolomanantsiatosika of Madagascar and Mandy Septoe of South Africa.
Singles play did not go much better for the Warriors. Ayres lost to Kamila Dadakhodjaeva of Uzbekistan 6-0, 6-0 at number five and Renfer lost on the number one court 6-1, 6-1 to Lysak. Lysak hits the ball extremely hard and has powerful serve which proved to be quite a challenge for Renfer. "After a while, I started to return her ball pretty well and she wasn't hitting as many winners as she was early in the match," said Renfer. "I feel very good about how well I played." Lysak's win gave Auburn Montgomery five wins, enough to secure the victory, and the match was halted.
"Our goal from the beginning of the season was to make it to Nationals," said Warrior Head Coach Kathy LeSage. Once it became fairly certain in the middle of the season that we were going to be in the championships, we added another goal - to make it past the first round. In the past we haven't been able to get that first win. I can't say that I expected to win that first round match, but I can say that we earned it. We had a tough opponent in Flagler, but we earned the opportunity to move to the next round." Yesterday's victory over Flagler marked the first time the traditional powerhouse lost a first round match. Last year Flagler advanced as far as the quarterfinals.
"All of our first year players showed a remarkable maturity," noted LeSage. "Usually when we bring freshman, they are awestruck by the excitement of being at Nationals. But this year, our freshman kept their focus and went after it. An example is Jennie Dunn who peaked at just the right time. She learned from some frustrating losses earlier in the season. Instead of getting nervous in an important match, she found some kind of peace and was playing with passion in two critical matches.
"I was especially pleased with senior Jen Goebel's play, and happy for her," remarked LeSage. "She has struggled some this season, but she found her game here. It was great to see her playing so well in the final matches of her collegiate career." The Warriors end the season with a record of 16-11.
In other action involving GSAC schools, Point Loma Nazarene was defeated 5-3 by #8 Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) while fifth seeded Azusa Pacific moved on to the quarterfinals with a 5-1 win over Northwood (Fla.). Second seeded Vanguard defeated Southern Nazarene (Okla.) 5-1 to advance to a quarterfinal matchup with Berry (Ga.). Azusa Pacific will take on Embry-Riddle (Fla.).
Point Loma Nazarene men's team also lost in the tournament falling 5-0 to third seeded Auburn Montgomery. In other men's tournament games, fifth seeded Vanguard defeated Shorter (Ga.) 5-0 and will face fourth seeded Embry-Riddle in tomorrows' quarterfinals. Azusa-Pacific, the number two seed, was also a 5-0 winner, defeating Olivete Nazarene (Ill.). The Cougars will take on seventh seeded Virginia Intermont .
Warriors Win First Round NAIA Match Against Flagler
(May 16, 2005) - #15 Westmont Women's Tennis (16-10) served up a 6-3 win against #17 Flagler (Fla.) in a first round match at the NAIA Women's Tennis National Championship in Mobile, Alabama. With the win, the Warriors (16-10) advance to a second round match at 1:00 p.m. tomorrow where they will meet top-seeded Auburn Montgomery (Ala.) who bosts a record of 23-0.
In doubles play, Lorelei Belindean and Gillian Ayres cruised to an easy 8-1 victory over Monica Burbelo and Amy Eller on the number three court. "We knew we needed to take charge at the beginning of the match," said Ayres. "We had a plan to serve into the body, take the net and return cross-court. We started early and never let up."
However, at one and two doubles the Warriors were struggling and in danger of going down 2-1. Jenny Renfer and Jennifer Goebel started well against a very good number one Flagler team of Charlotte Sikora and Juliana Elia, but in the end fell 8-4. Meanwhile on court two, Flagler's Lane Allenius and Laurie Molter had a 6-3 lead and the serve against Masako Horino and Jennie Dunn.
"Down 6-3, we decided to change things up and stop trying to out hit our opponents," said Dunn. "We slowed the ball down and put Masako at the net." The plan worked as the Warriors took the next three games - breaking serve twice and tying the match at six games apiece.
Allenius and Molter rallied to take a 7-6 advantage by breaking Horino's serve, but Westmont's number two team cashed in another three game sweep to claim the match 9-7. "It was amazing," said Horino, "it's always better to come back (from being down)."
Going into singles with a 2-1 victory, Head Coach Kathy LeSage knew that the Warriors would face a challenge at number one and two where Flagler was loaded with talent. The hope was to win three of four matches on courts three through six. Hope was fulfilled when Westmont won all four.
Ayres defeated Kim Nichols at number five by a score of 6-0, 6-2. "She had a strong cross-court forehand, but my serves were going well and I was able to set up points off of her returns," said Ayres. "The environment at Nationals really makes you focus. I lost some of the focus when she broke my serve at 4-1 in the second set. I've had some trouble closing in the past and I was worried she could use the break to turn the momentum. But I used the time at the cross-over to refocus and stop assuming that I would win."
In other singles matches, Goebel shut-out Allenius at number four 6-0, 6-0 and Belindean defeated Molter 6-0, 6-2 on court three. Dunn pulled off her second comeback of the day against Burbelo at number six. After losing the first set 6-1, Dunn came back to win the second set 6-3. Since the match had already been decided, a superbreaker was played to determine the winner of the third set. Down 8-4, Dunn made it a 'comeback-trifecta' by scoring the next six points for a 10-8 win.
Flagler (9-9) picked up two points at number one where Sikora defeated Renfer 6-1, 6-1 and at number two where Elia won over Horino 6-0, 6-3.
Fellow GSAC member Point Loma Nazarene also had a first round victory defeating Walsh (Ohio) 9-0. Point Loma will face #8 Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) in tomorrow's second round action. Vanguard and Azusa Pacific received first round byes in the tournament.
Point Loma also won in the men's tournament defeating Aquinas (Mich.) 9-0. The Sea Lions will play #3 Auburn Montgomery (Ala.). Joining Point Loma in second round action will be Vanguard and AzusaPacific who received first round byes. Alliant International, the fourth representative from NAIA Region II, lost 5-4 to Berry (Ga).
Renfer and Goebel Honored as GSAC Scholar Athletes
(May 13, 2005) - Two members of Westmont Women's Tennis have been recognized for the excellence both on the court and in the classroom. Senior Jennifer Goebel and junior Jenny Renfer have been named to the 2005 Women's Tennis Golden State Athletic Conference.
Goebel, who amassed a career record of 45-30 in singles play and 46-30 at doubles, graduated earlier this month with a 3.65 GPA and a degree in communications. She was also selected as a Golden Eagle Award recipient, an award given to the top scholar-athlete in each sport.
Renfer, a Kinesiology major with a GPA of 3.67, played at number one singles for the Warriors this year and was also selected to the All-GSAC and to the NAIA All-Region II teams.
Renfer and Goebel, who are doubles partners, along with the rest of the women's tennis team, will compete at the NAIA National Championships next week. The fifteenth ranked Warriors will take on #17 Flagler (Fla.) in first round action at 1:00 p.m. on Monday.
Women's Tennis Opens Nationals Against Flagler
(May 11, 2005) - The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics has announced pairings for the Women's Tennis Championships which will be held at the in Mobile Tennis Center in Alabama next week. #15 Westmont (15-10) will be meet Flagler of St. Augustine, Florida in first round play on Monday at 1:00 pm (EST).
Holding an overall record of 9-8, #17 Flagler finished fourth in the Florida Sun Conference behind #5 Embry-Riddle, #10 Savannah College of Art and Design and #12 Northwood. The Saints reached the semi-finals of the NAIA Region XIV Championships before losing to the eventual winner, Embry-Riddle.
Flagler is led by junior Charlotte Sikora who has a record of 6-1 at number one singles and 6-3 when teaming up with Juliana Elia at number one doubles.
The winner of the Westmont-Flagler contest will take on the number one-seed, Auburn-Montgomery (23-0) in a 1:00 p.m. game on Tuesday.
The Golden State Athletic Conference is sending three teams in addition to Westmont to the championships. In another game at 1:00 p.m. Monday, #9 Point Loma will face Walsh (Ohio). Second seeded Vanguard and fifth seeded Azusa Pacific received first round byes and will begin action on Tuesday. Vanguard will take on the winner of the Southern Nazarene (Okla.)/Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) match-up and Azusa Pacific will meet the winner of the St. Ambrose (Iowa)/Northwood (Fla.) contest.
Women's Tennis Loses in Regionals but Punches Ticket to Nationals
(May 5, 2005) - Despite a 5-0 loss to #2 Vanguard in the NAIA Regional finals, Westmont Women's Tennis is headed to the NAIA National Championships which begin on May 16th in Mobile, Alabama. On the strength of a #15 national ranking, the Warriors received an at-large invitation to the tournament.
Before the start of the regional competition which was held at the Costa Mesa Tennis Center, Westmont junior Jenny Renfer was named to the All-GSAC and all NAIA All-Region II Women's Tennis teams. Renfer has played at number one singles and doubles for the Warriors this season.
Today's match against the Vanguard Lions began with the singles matches. The Lions took and early 4-0 lead, leaving the drama to courts three and four. The Warriors would need to win both matches to have an opportunity to upset Vanguard by sweeping doubles.
On court three, the Warrior's Lorelei Belindean battled with Amy Brown to split the first two sets. Brown won the first set 6-3 with Belindean claiming the second 7-5. At number four singles Westmont senior Jennifer Goebel cruised to a 6-1 victory over Damia Donkervoort, but lost the second 6-4. In the third set, Goebel had a five games to four lead, but Donkervoort broke serve to even the set at five apiece. Meanwhile, Belindean had fallen behind 4-1 on court three. However, Belindean rallied by holding, and then breaking serve to pull within one. On court four, Goebel and Donkervoort split the next two sets, forcing a tie breaker to determine the winner. Unfortunately for Westmont, Donkervoort prevailed 7-4 in the tie breaker, giving Vanguard the five points needed to claim the contest. Belindean and Brown's battle was left undecided.
Women's Tennis Falls to #9 Point Loma
(April 16, 2005) - The hopes of #17 Westmont Women's Tennis to upset #9 Point Loma Nazarene (14-4, 9-3) in the final GSAC game of the season, came to an end with today's singles matches. The Sea Lions won five of six singles matches to claim the victory before the doubles matches even began. In the end, Point Loma walked away with a 7-2 victory.
Jen Goebel was the lone winner for the Warriors defeating Christine LaLonde 6-2, 7-6 (5) on the number four court. "I was looking around realizing that this was my last home game," said the senior captain, "and I was just so thankful - thankful for tennis, thankful to Westmont and thankful to God for legs that move." Reflecting on her singles match Goebel admitted, "I didn't feel confident out there, but I came in with a plan to hit to her backhand and stayed with it. It was a challenge because my opponent was inconsistent. She would hit winners and then make errors, so it was hard to get into a rhythm. There weren't many long points, which I would have preferred."
Lorelei Belindean, nearly pulled off a comeback at number three, but lost to Anita Sieczka 6-2, 6-4. At number one, Jenny Renfer was defeated by Ashley Stimple 6-1, 6-2, while Masako Horino lost on court two to Andrea Montoya by the same score. Gillian Ayres succumb to Alyse Tyson 6-0, 6-3 at number five and Jenny Dunn was defeated by Crystal Richter 6-1, 6-2 in the number six match.
In doubles play, Westmont's Belindean and Ayres defeated Tyson and LaLonde at number three by a score of 8-3. The Sea Lions claimed the other two matches with Strimple and Siedzka defeating Renfer and Goebel 8-4 at number one while Montoya and Richter won on the number two court 8-2 over Horino and Dunn.
The Warriors finish the regular season in fourth place (8-6) in the Golden State Athletic Conference. Overall Westmont is 15-9 on the season.
Next up for the Warriors are the NAIA Region II Championships at the Costa Mesa Tennis Center on May 5th and 6th where Westmont will meet up with #2 Vanguard. If the Warriors win on the first day, they will face the winner of #4 Azusa Pacific and Point Loma Nazarene.
Westmont is currently on the bubble for a spot in the NAIA National Tournament to be held May 16-20 in Mobile, Alabama. "We have a better than 50% chance of playing in Nationals," said Head Coach Kathy Le Sage. "It depends on who wins their regional championships and how many of those winners are ranked higher than Westmont."
Tennis Time Changes
(April 14, 2005) - Men's and Women's Tennis have switched start times for Saturday's matches against Point Loma Nazarene. The women's match will begin at 11:00 a.m. and the men's at 1:00 p.m.
Warriors Blank the Mustangs in Women's Tennis
(April 7, 2005) - Two days after losing 7-2 to #4 Azusa Pacific, the Warriors made quick work of a match with The Master's College (2-17, 1-13), winning by a score of 9-0. The Warriors did not lose a set in the match that which was played without their number one singles and doubles player Jenny Renfer. Renfer was injured during a match with California Lutheran last week. She was able to finish that match with a victory and compete at Azusa Pacific in doubles play, but ended up defaulting in her singles match against the Cougars. The extent of her injuries are unknown.
#17 Westmont (13-8, 6-5) swept doubles play against The Master's despite playing with pairs which have seen limited action together. Masako Horino and Lorelei Belindean teamed up for only the second time this season, and swept Allison Crowston and Mary Buck on the number one court 8-0. Jenny Dunn and Ashley Alleman played their third match of the year together, defeating Victoria Yaremchuk and Charlotte Thiesen at number three by a score of 8-1. Playing at number two, Jennifer Goebel matched up for the first time with Gillian Ayres and the duo claimed an 8-3 victory.
With Renfer out of the line up, each Warrior moved up one position in singles play. The closest match of the day was on the number five court where Dunn cashed in against Buck, 6-3, 6-4. "I played her earlier in the season and knew that she was a good server who moved her feet well," said Dunn. "I went in knowing that I needed to be smart with my placement. Both of us were aggressive on our serves, but I was able to break her serve in the second set to get the win."
In other singles action, Horino defeated Crowston at number one 6-2, 6-1 and Belindean won 6-1, 6-0 over Kennington at number two. Ayres defeated Thiesen 6-1, 6-0 at number four. Both Goebel and Alleman swept their opponents 6-0, 6-0 - Goebel at number two against Gregory and Alleman at number six against Sarah Grunau. Goeble leads the team in singles victories with a record of 15-5 while Alleman is undefeated at 7-0.
The Warriors' next match up is in La Mirada on Saturday where they will meet the host Biola Eagles (3-5, 5-7).
Westmont Women's Tennis Extends Win Streak to Five
(March 31, 2005) - #18 Westmont Women's Tennis defeated California Lutheran by a score of 7-2 this afternoon at Abbott Tennis Courts. The Regals are ranked twentieth in the NCAA Division III poll.
The Warriors, who trailed 2-1 after doubles play, swept singles to secure the victory. Freshman Gillian Ayres recorded her 10th singles victory of the year by defeating Amy Vogt at number five, 6-1, 6-0. Senior team captain Jen Goebel won at number four singles 6-1, 6-3 over Aimee Fioree, recording her 13th singles win of the year. In the number three match, sophomore Lorelei Belindean captured her 11th victory, 10th at number three, be defeating Blair Murphy 6-2, 6-1. The Regals (7-5) were forced to default at number six singles due to an injury.
Freshman Masako Horino struggled early in her number two singles match, falling behind 4-0 in the first set. But determination took over and Horino took the next six games to close out the first set with a win. She followed that recovery with a decisive 6-1 win in the second set.
The closest singles match of the day was at number one where Westmont's Jenny Renfer battled with Lisa Novajosky. Renfer led 5-2 in the first set but gave up the next four games to trail 6-5 with Novajosky serving. Renfer broke serve and then went on to win the tie breaker 7-4. In the second set, each player held serve until Renfer broke Novajosky's serve to tie the set at three each. She followed by winning the next three games and ending the match.
Horino and Jenny Dunn claimed Westmont's only doubles victory, defeating Vogt and Briana Smalley 8-3. The Warrior duo are 5-1 at number three doubles.
Westmont (11-7) hosts Hope International in a GSAC game on Saturday morning at 10:00 a.m. The Warriors defeated the Royals at Cal State Fullerton 9-0 on February 26th.
Warriors Victorious in Grand Canyon Rematch
(March 30, 2005) - Grand Canyon University (3-9) and Westmont Women's Tennis squared off for the second time this season resulting in a Warrior two-match sweep over the Antelopes. Grand Canyon has only five players on their roster and as a result must default at number six singles and number three doubles. The two point advantage was crucial in Westmont's first match-up at the Phoenix Tennis Center where the Warriors eked out a 5-4 victory 13 days ago. In today's rematch, however, the Warriors expanded the initial spot and racked up a 6-3 win.
Playing at number two doubles, Westmont's Gillian Ayres and Lorelei Belindean defeated Shawna Young and Lindsay Hardy 8-5 while Jenny Renfer and Jen Goebel fell to the 'Lopes number one team of Medini Sharma and Nikita Bhardwaj 8-6.
Ayres and Belindean went on to victories in singles action as well. Ayres defeated Hardy on the number five court 6-1, 6-1 and while Belindean secured a victory in the number three singles match 6-0, 6-0. The 'Lopes picked up a point on the number one court where Sharma defeated Renfer 6-3, 6-1 and another at number two where Bhardwaj defeated Horino 6-1, 6-0.
With a Westmont victory already assured, Goebel battled against Young in number four singles. Goebel took the first set 7-5 and built a 4-1 lead in the second. But Young broke Goebel's serve in the process of tying the match at four. Goebel held serve to regain a 5-4 advantage and then broke Young's server to end the set at 6-4 and claim the match.
Westmont (10-7) will play again tomorrow as they host California Lutheran at 2:00 p.m. at the Abbott Tennis Courts.
Westmont Tennis Wins Doubleheader Over Cal Tech
(March 23, 2005) - A rain postponement on Tuesday resulted in a men's and women's tennis doubleheader at Westmont as the Warriors hosted the California Institute of Technology Beavers. With both matches beginning at 2:00 p.m., the challenge was to find a way to play 12 singles matches and six doubles matches on seven courts before sunset. One of Westmont's eight courts was unavailable due to wet conditions. As it turned out, the challenge was easily met. Westmont's women's squad defeated the Beavers 9-0 and the men claimed an 8-1 victory.
The men (7-5) started the contest with the top four singles pairings while the women opened play with all three doubles matches. J.B. Schiller, who was selected by Westmont men's head coach Chris Elwood as "Player of the Game", shutout his number four singles opponent, Parth Venkat 6-0, 6-0. Moving up from his usual number four position, Kyle Godfrey claimed the number two singles match 6-1, 6-2 over Cal Tech's John Howard. Westmont's Burke Marold won by the same score at number one over Britt Boras. John Hilp battled it out on court three and defeated Derek Chang 6-3, 6-3 to notch the fourth Warrior point.
Meanwhile, the Lady Warriors (9-7) were doing quite well in doubles. Women's head coach Kathy LeSage was forced to juggle the lineup due to an illness by number one singles and doubles player Jenny Renfer. Pairing for the first time, Jenny Dunn and Ashley Alleman took about 18 minutes to sweep their number three opponents, Rachel Yohay and Terry Yan, 8-0. Another new duo for the Warriors, Masako Horino and Jen Goebel, pulled off an 8-3 victory at number one, defeating Jenny Hsiao and Ann Leu. Lorelei Belindean and Gillian Ayres made it a Warrior trifecta, defeating Joanne Yim and Rachel Yohay 8-1.
As courts cleared in the men's competition, number five and six singles matches were able to get under way. Eric Kinsey played in the number five slot, defeating the Beaver's Justin Lazear 6-4, 6-0. George Canete took up the Warrior's cause in the number six matchup and won over Kevin Monajati 6-3, 6-2. The sweep of singles insured the win for Westmont.
With a 3-0 Westmont advantage on the women's side, courts became available for singles. First up was the number six match in which Alleman defeated Yen 6-0, 6-0. Goebel won her eleventh singles match of the year playing at number three and defeating Yim 6-0, 6-0. At number four, Ayers defeated Wadworth 6-1, 6-1. At the conclusion of the number six match, Dunn took the court to meet Yohay at number five and won 6-1, 6-2. Following Goebel's victory, Belindean and Leu started their match with Belindean cruising to a 6-0, 6-2 win.
In the meantime, doubles competition had begun for the men on the upper courts. Kinsey and Schiller teamed up at number two to defeat Boras and Venkat 8-1 and Marold partnered with Bryn Mercado to seize the number one doubles game 8-2 over Howard and Chang. Given the length of the day, matches schedule for the next two days, and an 8-0 lead, Elwood elected to default at number three doubles and settle for an 8-1 victory.
Also finding room on the upper courts was the number one women's matchup where Horino defeated Hsiao in the closest match of the day. After Horino took the first set 6-1, Hsiao battled back in the second set going up six games to five. Horino won the twelfth game of the set to tie at six and then triumphed in the tie breaker 7-4 to end the match and give the Westmont women's team a 9-0 sweep.
Warriors Wrap up Road Trip With Win over Western New Mexico
(March 18, 2005) - Westmont Women's Tennis completed a four game road trip by defeating Western New Mexico 9-0. The road trip began with losses to Point Loma Nazarene (5-4) and Weber State (1-6), but finished with victories over Grand Canyon (5-4) and the WNMU Mustangs.
In doubles play, Jenny Renfer and Jen Goebel defeated Tereza Pilatova and Karina Soares 8-4 at number one while Masako Horino and Jenny Dunn won at number two 8-3. Lorelei Belindean and Gillian Ayres completed the sweep of doubles matches with an 8-2 victory over Sara Billings and Nadia Nuñez.
In singles matches, Renfer defeated Pliatova 6-0, 6-3 at number one and Horino won the number two match over Kolb 6-2, 6-2. Belindean claimed the number three pairing 6-3, 6-0 over Soares and Goebel continued her dominance in the number four spot by defeating Vos 6-1, 6-0. Ayres dispatched Billings 6-1, 6-0 at number five and Ashley Alleman stepped onto the number six court to defeat over Nuñez 6-2, 6-1.
Westmont returns home to host Cal Tech on Wednesday at the Abbott Tennis Courts in a 2:00 p.m. game.
Warriors Come Close to Upset Against Point Loma
(March 15, 2005) - Westmont Women's Tennis (6-6, 4-4) nearly pulled off an upset yesterday at the first stop of a four match, six day road trip. The Warriors traveled for a second time this year to San Diego to take on the #10 Sea Lions of Point Loma Nazarene (7-4, 5-4). The first trip yielded no results as rain forced the rescheduling of the contest.
Doubles action proved to be very successful for the Warriors. A marathon match at number one doubles saw Westmont's Jenny Renfer and Jen Goebel defeat Ashley Strimple and Anita Sieczka 9-8 (3). It was the first loss this year for the Sea Lion duo who enjoys a number 17 ranking by the ITA (Intercollegiate Tennis Association) among NAIA doubles teams. Lorelei Belindean and Gillian Ayres, playing number three doubles, also claimed victory by handing Christine LaLonde and Alyse Tyson their second loss of the season, 8-5. The Sea Lion's Andrea Montoya and Amanda Miller defeated Masako Horino and Jenny Dunn at number two doubles, 8-2.
With a 2-1 lead going into singles play, the Warriors needed three of six matches to upset Point Loma. The Sea Lions claimed wins at one and two with Strimple defeating Renfer 6-2, 6-3 and Montoya winning over Horino 6-1, 6-2. Point Loma also won on the number five court where LaLonde beat out Ayres 6-1, 6-3. But Westmont triumphed on courts three and four with Belindean defeating Sieczka 6-2, 6-3 and Goebel defeating Miller 6-4, 6-3. It was the eighth singles victory this season for Goebel who is ranked 30th by the ITA. She is currently 8-2 in the number four position and 8-3 overall.
With the contest tied at four matches apiece, all eyes turned to the number six court where Westmont's Dunn was battling Tyson. Dunn took the first set 6-2 but Tyson prevailed in the match by winning 6-2, 6-3 in the next two sets.
The Warriors' next stop will be on Wednesday in Glendale, Arizona where they will take on Weber State at the Paseo Racquet Club. On Thursday and Friday they will move to the Phoenix Tennis Center to face Grand Canyon and Western New Mexico respectively.
Women's Tennis Plays Strong Against #4 Azusa Pacific
(March 12, 2005) - It won't go down as a win in the standings, but the Westmont Women's Tennis team played a strong match against fourth ranked Azusa Pacific and it may help them move up in the national rankings. The Cougars (9-2, 5-1) won the match 6-3.
In singles action, 37th ranked Masako Horino of Westmont upset 27th ranked Peggy Bell 6-0, 4-6, and 6-2 while Westmont's Jen Goebel (30th ranked) defeated #32 Mayu Sato 6-4, 4-6, 7-5. The wins gave Westmont a chance to upset the Cougars by sweeping doubles.
The task would not be easy as Azusa Pacific has two highly ranked doubles teams - Bell and Jennifer Dao are ranked number nine while Sato and Bay Daniels are ranked sixteenth. However, the Cougars mixed up the two teams pairing Dao and Sato at number one and Daniels and Bell at number two.
The job of beating APU's number one team fell to Westmont duo Goebel and Jennifer Renfer. "Jenny Renfer took over the doubles and schooled the nationally ranked doubles team," exclaimed Warrior Head Coach Kathy LeSage. Westmont took the match 8-5. However, the Cougars prevailed in the rest of the doubles with Daniels and Bell defeating Horino and Dunn 8-3 at number two and Heather Haitt and Lynn Quitoriano defeating Lorelei Belindean and Gillian Ayres 8-5 at number three.
In the other singles matches, Belindean won the first set 6-3, but couldn't hold on in the number three matchup as Daniels took the second and third sets 6-4, 6-4. Jenny Dunn also made it close at number six before losing to Christiana Scolinos 6-3, 6-5. Renfer lost at number one to Dao 6-2, 6-0 and Ayres lost 6-1, 6-1 to Quitoriano on the number five court.
The Warriors (6-5, 4-3) will be on the road next week traveling first to San Diego to take on Point Loma Nazarene on Monday and then to Arizona where they have matches scheduled with Weber State, Grand Canyon and Western New Mexico.
Warriors Cruise to Win Over La Sierra
(March 11, 2005) - In a week filled with the challenge of facing fellow Region II foe Alliant Internaiontal and fourth ranked GSAC opponent Azusa Pacific, Westmont Women's Tennis (6-4, 4-2) had an easier go of it today against La Sierra. The Golden Eagles (1-6) are in its second year of competition and in the process of building a competitive program. The Warriors won the match 9-0, giving up only 10 games in nine matches.
In doubles play, the number one team of Jenny Renfer and Jen Goebel defeated Alycia Payne and Mita Tumewu 8-1. Masako Horino and Jenny Dunn won by the same score at number two over Paulina Valencia and Sue Ellen Bennett. At number three, Lorelei Belindean and Gillian Ayres swept Sharon Agir and Star Corral 8-0.
Ashley Alleman played in the number six singles spot for Westmont and swept Corral 6-0, 6-0. Ayres defeated Agir in the number five slot 6-1, 6-0 and Goebel won by identical scores at number four over Bennett. Horino also recorded a 6-1, 6-0 victory, defeating Tumewu in the number two matchup. At number three Belindean recorded a 6-1, 6-1 win over Valencia while Renfer won at number one 6-2, 6-1 over Payne.
Saturday's contest against Azusa Pacific begins at 10:00 a.m. at the Abbott Tennis Courst on the Westmont campus.
Belindean Earns Laurels in Crucial Women's Tennis Victory
(March 8, 2005) - #15 Westmont Women's Tennis (5-4) faced their biggest match of the year on the Abbott Tennis Courts this afternoon in a showdown with #20 Alliant International. At stake - a likely trip to Regionals and Nationals come May. Because the Mountain Lions are the only NAIA Region II team which is not in also in the Golden State Athletic Conference, a victory by Alliant International would likely have kept Westmont out of the Region II Playoffs. If a team does not compete in Regionals, by rule it cannot compete in Nationals. That made today's matchup, a must win for the Warriors.
The match began with doubles play which saw Alliant take a 2-1 advantage. Lorelei Belindean and Gillian Ayres easily defeated Heather Leslie and Genevieve Bennett 8-0 in the number three position. However their teammates did not fare as well. In the number one match, the Mountain Lions' Eleonora Maciocco and Kumiko Yashida defeated Jenny Renfer and Jenny Goebel 8-3 while Masako Horino and Jenny Dunn lost 8-6 to Alliant's Lenka Durisova and Sophia Van Splunteren at number two.
Needing to win four of six singles matches, the Warriors picked up their first victory when Ayres dispatched Leslie 6-1, 6-0 to claim the win at number five singles. At number six singles, Dunn claimed the first set for Westmont 6-1, but lost the next two to Anastasia Gorskaya 6-0, 6-2, giving back a one match advantage (3-2) to Alliant. Westmont evened the score when Horino won at number two 6-2, 6-4, but moments later the Mountain Lions picked up their fourth match when Durisova defeated Renfer at number one, 7-5, 6-2. That left two singles matches undecided and Westmont would have to win both to keep their hopes of going to Nationals alive.
At number four, Westmont team captain Goebel was battling Maciocco. After winning the first set 7-6, Goebel lost the second 4-6. But Goebel's finished strong, out playing her opponent 6-3 in the final set. "I was getting tired," said Goebel, "and then I heard everyone cheering and encouraging me and that renewed my energy."
With the score tied at four matches each, all eyes turned to the battle at number three singles were Westmont sophomore Belindean was taking on Van Splunteren. The match had not started until after 4:15 p.m. as the court was still being used for the final men's doubles match. Belindean won the first set 7-6, but was behind 5-2 in the second with Van Splunteren serving. Battling back, Belindean broke and then held serve to bring the score to 5-4. Well past sunset with light fading quickly, Van Splunteren gained a 40-love advantage in the 10th game of the set. But the determined Belindean rattled off three straight points and eventually won the game to tie the set at five.
Now too dark to continue, and with a trip to Nationals on the line, the match was suspended until it could be relocated to the Santa Barbara Municipal Tennis Courts, approximately four miles from campus. The respite seamed to work in Van Splunteren's favor as the Mountain Lion won the next two games when play resumed, forcing the match to a decisive third set.
Whatever advantage Van Splunteren seemed to have gained by the recess quickly disappeared in the third set. While Van Splunteren appeared to have spent her last reserves of energy, Belindean looked to be at the top of her game - landing her first serves, rifling the ball into her opponent's court, and refusing to allow her opponent an opening. In the end, the third set belonged to Belindean 6-0.
Belindean's teammates mobbed her in celebration of a tremendous win, and the promise of a trip to Mobile, Alabama come this Mat to compete with the nations' best.
Women's Tennis Beats Cal Baptist and the Rain
(February 24, 2005) - Recent rains had kept the Women's Tennis team at Westmont College out of competition for the last 16 days. Once during that span they travelled to San Diego to attempt a scheduled match against Point Loma Nazarene, but rain forced them to turn back without so much as a single serve.
With blue skies and a dry court, the playing of today's scheduled match against California Baptist (1-4, 0-3) looked like a sure thing. It wasn't.
Competition began with the Warriors sweeping the doubles matches. Sophomore Jenny Renfer and senior Jennifer Goebel played at number one doubles for Westmont winning over Chrissy Lee and Sarah Majors 8-3. On the number three court, Jennie Dunn and Sarah Gideon defeated the Lancer's Brittany Towle and Tina Toews by the same score. Playing at number two doubles, freshman Masako Horino and sophomore Lorelei Belindean defeated Mallory Bailey and Ramona Repede 8-1.
Everything was looking good for the Warriors as they took a 3-0 lead into singles play. Westmont needed only two victories in six single matches to give them the victory over California Baptist which is in its first year after a six year hiatus from women's tennis. But shortly after single play began, the teams were forced to take a break when a dark cloud wandered overhead, sending large droplets of rain onto the court. The shower was brief and after the courts dried, play was able to resume.
Dunn, playing on court six, was the first to finish her match defeating the Brittany Schwandt 6-0, 6-2. With the Warriors ahead 4-0, an unusual occurrence caused a delay in one of the matches. Majors, the Lancer's number two player, lost a belly button ring during a rally which apparently caused enough distraction for the players to lose track of the score.
As players and coaches tried to sort out the situation on court two, the skies once again turned dark and the large drops of rain began slowly to return. Seconds before the courts became unplayable, Goebel, the teams captain, won the final point of her match on court four, giving her a 6-0, 6-1 victory over Repede. The victory also allowed Westmont to claim a 5-0 win over California Baptist and all parties called it quits for the day.
With the victory, the 10th ranked Warriors move to 2-1 in the Golden State Athletic Conference and 2-2 overall. On Saturday, the Warriors will play at Cal State Fullerton in an 11:00 am game, and then stay at the Fullerton campus to take on Hope International at 3:00 pm. That is, if it doesn't rain.
Rain, Rain, Go Away...
(February 18, 2005) - After postponement of yesterday's Baseball game against Albertson College, all of today's scheduled Westmont Athletic events have been rained out, putting a damper on the Westmont Athletics schedules.
Women's Tennis has canceled today's non-conference match against UC Santa Cruz. The match will not be rescheduled.
Men's Tennis was scheduled to play Alliant International at the Cal Poly Pomona Team Tournament today, however, all of today's matches in the tournament have been canceled. An attempt will be made to reschedule matches for tomorrow.
Today's baseball at Azusa Pacific has been postponed. Tomorrow's double header at Azusa Pacific has been rescheduled for 1:00 p.m., weather permitting. No announcement has been made for rescheduling the game scheduled for today.
Men's and Women's Tennis Receive Preseason Ranking.
(February 15, 2005) The NAIA Women's Tennis Preseason Poll has ranked the Westmont Warriors at number ten. The Warriors, who finished last season ranked #22, are 1-2 on the season with losses coming to a NCAA Division I school, the University of San Francisco, and to fellow GSAC opponent and #2 ranked Vanguard. The Warrior's victory was over Biola which was not ranked. Other Golden State Athletic Schools ranked in the top 25 are Azusa Pacifc at number four and Point Loma Nazarene at number 14. The Warriors play against Azusa Pacific today at Citrus College and will take on Point Loma Nazarene in a rain postponed match on February 25th.
Men's Tennis also found a spot in the preseason polls and is ranked at #23. Like the women, then men also finished last season with a number 22 ranking. Westmont is currently 2-1 on the season with victories over La Sierra and NCAA Division III Pomona-Pitzer. Westmont's only loss came at the hands of Claremont-Mudd-Scripps which is ranked sixth in NCAA Division III. Other GSAC schools ranked in the top 25 are Azusa Pacific at number one, Vanguard at number four and Point Loma Nazarene at number 10. The Warriors' next competition is in the Cal Poly Pomona Team Tournament this Friday through Sunday.
Women's Tennis Splits In First Two GSAC Matches
(February 8, 2005) Women's Tennis opened up Golden State Athletic Conference play with an 8-1 loss to Vanguard (1-0, 1-0) on Saturday but rebounded on Tuesday to defeat Biola 8-1. The Warriors are now 1-1 in conference play and 1-2 on the year.
Jen Goebel recorded the sole Westmont victory at the Costa Mesa Tennis Center against Vanguard. Playing at #4 singles, Goebel lost the first set to Damia Donkervoort 5-7, but took the next to sets 6-2, 6-2. "Jen had a chance to win in two sets," reflected Head Coach Kathy LeSage. She was ahead in the first set but got a little timid and let her opponent pull ahead. She learned from that experience and took a take charge attitude into the second and third sets. Jen made fewer errors and had a workman's attitude which allowed her to win."
In the Biola (0-1, 0-1) match at Westmont's Abbott Tennis Courts, the Warriors jumped out to a 3-0 lead by sweeping the Eagles in doubles. Jenny Renfer and Goebel teamed up at number one doubles to defeat Kristin Kelsey and Kati Leicht 8-4. Playing together for the first time this year, Lorelei Belindean and Sarah Gideon defeated Ginny Bradshaw and Brie Meister in number two doubles 8-2. Masako Horino made her doubles debut playing with Jenny Dunn at number three where they easily defeated Becca Nations and Bethany Laursen by a score of 8-1.
In singles play, Westmont's Horino defeated Bradshaw 6-0, 6-4 at #2 singles despite an injury which required her to serve underhand. At number #3 Belindean easily defeated Leicht 6-0, 6-1. Playing in the number four singles position, Goebel struggled in the first set and fell 4-6 to Mesiter. However she recovered nicely in the second set winning 6-0 and then took the super-breaker 10-2 to claim the match. Gillian Ayres won the #5 singles match 6-4, 6-1 and Dunn defeated Laursen at number six 6-2, 6-0. The Eagles' only win came at #1 singles where Kelsey defeated Renfer 6-2, 6-1.
The Warriors' next match is in San Diego on Saturday, when the will play Point Loma Nazarene.
Season Opens With Loss to NCAA Div I USF
(January 29, 2005) Despite a 7-0 loss to the University of San Francisco (1-1), Head Coach Kathy LeSage was upbeat about her team's performance against the NCAA Division I school. "With Masako (Horino) out, we were playing without our strength lineup," reported LeSage. Horino is expected to play number two singles this season and likely number two doubles. Her absence, due to injury, resulted in the number 3-6 singles players moving up one position.
"Jenny Renfer is on fire," proclaimed LeSage. Renfer plays at number one singles and doubles. "She is healthy and back to playing like she did in her freshman year - only better." Renfer lost 6-4, 6-3 to USF's Camille Pamart in singles.
"Freshman Gillian Ayers had a good first set playing up one position," assessed LeSage. "She should be strong at number five." Ayres was defeated in the number four position by Anna Skogerboe 6-4, 6-0.
In other singles matches, sophomore Lorelei Belindean was defeated by Joanna Macedo 6-2, 6-0 in the number two singles match-up. At number three, senior Jen Goebel lost to Megan Tiegs 6-0, 6-0. "Jen was disappointed in herself," acknowledged LeSage. "She studied abroad last semester and is not quite back to her previous form, but I have 100% confidence that she will find her game."
Freshman Jenny Dunn moved up to fill the number five slot and lost 6-1, 6-0 to Pichaya Laosirichon, while in the number six game, sophomore Sarah Gideon lost to Emma Taylor 6-1, 6-1.
In doubles play, Renfer and Goebel paired up at number one but were defeated by Pamart and Macedo 8-3. "Renfer and Goebel looked good in their game and I like them at number one doubles," reflected LeSage.
Belindean and Dunn played at number two, losing to Tiegs and Taylor, 8-1 while Ayres and Gideon took on Laosirichon and Skogerboe at number three and lost by the same score.
"For the most part, our girls didn't get blow away," affirmed LeSage. "Our opponents had a mental edge which helped them win duce games. I thought this was a typical first match for us and it will help us tune-up for conference play."
The Warriors (0-1) begin conference play next Saturday when the meet Vanguard University at the Coast Mesa Tennis Center at 11:00 am.
2005 Season Preview
After a difficult year in 2004, the Westmont Women's Tennis Program is looking to turn things around in 2005. "Our goal is to win the conference title and to return to Nationals," affirmed Head Coach Kathy LeSage. "Our team is young, full of energy and enthusiastic about this year's prospects. We will have a very solid lineup with good depth." The Warriors return four players from last year's team, all of which were in the singles' top six.
Junior Jenny Renfer will compete in the #1 singles position. "Jenny plays an intellectual style of tennis," reflected LeSage. "This year can be a turning point year for her. If she believes in herself and stays healthy, she can be a dominant #1 player." Renfer played as the #1 singles player in her freshman year and at #3 as a sophomore, a year in which she struggled with injuries.
