Linfield tennis gets to second round of NCAA tournament | College tennis

The Linfield women’s tennis team, including Kirkland native Sarah Watanabe, got to the second round of the NCAA women’s Division III tennis tournament last week. The Wildcats faced and beat the University of Texas at Tyler in the first round, and lost to Pomona-Pitzer in the second.

By Megan Managan • May 18, 2011 1:33 pm

The Linfield women’s tennis team, including Kirkland native Sarah Watanabe, got to the second round of the NCAA women’s Division III tennis tournament last week. The Wildcats faced and beat the University of Texas at Tyler in the first round, and lost to Pomona-Pitzer in the second.

Watanabe is just one of two Wildcats players who have national level experience. She along with teammate Sarah Click competed in 2008, as doubles partners in the regional quarterfinal against UC Santa Cruz.

The Wildcats qualified for this spring’s tournament after winning the Northwest Conference championship tournament in April.

Watanabe graduated from Lake Washington High School and is a senior at Linfield. In 2010, as a junior at Linfield, she had an 11-5 record in singles and was 14-6 in doubles.