Photo courtesy of Gail Patton.
Senior Rachel Malapit played her final game for SOU April 13 against Mills College. She defeated opponent Alexa Turner 6-3 and 6-0.

The Southern Oregon University women's tennis team said farewell to their lone senior Rachel Malapit as their season came to an end this year.

The Southern Oregon Raiders started the season strongly, going 4-0 defeating Shasta College, Lewis and Clark, Pacific and Willamette University in early February, but they eventually fell to 14th-ranked Lewis-Clark State, giving them their first loss of the season.

"We had a tougher schedule this year than last year, and everyone shined. We went to Florida to play better competition, and that's what we got," said Coach Gail Patton.

On their road trip to Orlando, Fla. mid-season, SOU played some tough matches at Lindenwood International, Webber International and Kalamazoo College and came away with an 8-4 record overall in the three day span in March.

The Raiders looked strong against Webber International as Mallory Byers, Rebecca Weicher, Malapit and Jennifer Voth all earned singles wins against tough competition.

Coming back to the West Coast, the Raiders took on Dominican University, where they dominated the doubles matches and defeated Dominican 7-2, improving to 9-4 as a team. Heidi Chiles shined against Dominican as she won three games and clinched her last match winning the match for SOU.

The Raiders last matches came on April 13 where they beat the heat and blanked Mills College 9-0.

Katie Ross seemed to set the tone for the Raiders this season. The standout junior shined as she helped compile the teams 10-4 season record. Ross was undefeated in singles and doubles play through the first four matches and ended strongly against Mills College, defeating Jenn Johnson in two sets 6-0 and 6-0.

"Katie is a very strong competitor and is very determined," said Patton.

In her last matches as a Raider, Malapit defeated Mill's Alexa Turner in two sets 6-3 and 6-0 and kept her touch in doubles matches paired with Heidi Chiles, defeating Kathy Jetnil and Nikki Bannister 8-1 as they helped SOU win all six single events and all three doubles events on the evening.

"She improved every year," said Patton of Malapit. "She's a smart tennis player and more mature this year. We're all going to miss her."