Fast Break: Tennis’ season closes quietly and the Bruins best us once again

Students of Willamette play a game of pickup soccer with the ducks. Graphic by Alyssa Diggdon.

Hello, Bearcat fan! One of many false springs is upon us, which means that it’s a hard week to be a Willamette sports fan. Well, at least if this week is a predictor for the rest of spring sports’ seasons. 

Starting with the good news, Kat Thornton (ʼ25) of track and field broke the school record this weekend in the 100-meter hurdles at the John Knight Twilight with a time of 14.70 seconds. Steeley Mucken (ʼ27) won first place in javelin, again, but otherwise Western Oregon and the Oregon Running Club got the best of the Bearcats. 

An injury-ridden and Claire Kisielnicki-less (’26) lacrosse team fell to the George Fox Bruins 13-5 at home on Saturday.

Tennis also had a hard couple of matches this weekend against George Fox, with the men going 0-7 at home Saturday and then 0-7 again on Sunday against Linfield in McMinnville. The women eked out a win at No. 2 singles versus the Bruins thanks to Gio Horner (ʼ28) but lost 1-6 in Newberg on Saturday. On Sunday, the women turned things around, playing Linfield at home for senior day and winning 5-2, marking just the second time in recorded conference history they’ve downed the Wildcats. This marks the end of the season for both teams, with the men’s side finishing last in the conference at 0-14 and the women’s team tied for No. 6 with Puget Sound at 3-11. 

Baseball went 1-2 in a three-game series against the No. 1 Whitman Blues at home, with a late-game rally helping them win by one run on Friday.

Following the trend of the weekend, softball had a tough couple of games against the Bruins in Newberg, losing 0-1 and 3-11 in their first two on Saturday, then losing 6-8 and 1-4 in the second doubleheader on Sunday. We’ll get our revenge against them someday.

In the wider world of sport: Draft season is upon us, with the WNBA taking their picks yesterday and the NFL on April 24. All eyes are on UConn star and the No. 1 predicted pick Paige Bueckers, but the fates of the remaining first-round picks are up for debate. As for the NFL, who will get Miami star QB Cam Ward? And, more importantly, are the Chicago Bears on the up? I think so! (Please pick Ashton Jeanty, please pick Ashton Jeanty.)

In the coming weeks: How will track and field fare at Northwest Conference Championships? And, can softball rally this Tuesday against the Lutes at home after a disappointing start to conference play?