By: SOU Sports Information
CALDWELL, Idaho – Southern Oregon will enter the postseason on a program-best six-dual winning streak after closing the Cascade Conference regular season on Saturday with back-to-back victories.
The No. 7-ranked Raiders defeated Northwest (Wash.), 4-1, and No. 9 College of Idaho, 3-2, at C of I Beach Courts to cap a perfect weekend. They finished conference play at 12-3 and will bring a 14-7 overall record to the inaugural CCC Championship presented by U.S. Bank.
The four-team, double-elimination tournament will play out Thursday and Friday in Salem with an automatic spot in the NAIA Invitational Tournament on the line. As the No. 2 seed, the Raiders open at 10 a.m. Thursday against No. 3 seed C of I and play either top-seeded Corban or No. 4 seed Northwest at 2 p.m. or 4 p.m.
The Raiders finished off regular-season series sweeps of both NU (6-9, 6-9) and C of I (9-6, 9-6) on Saturday. They won four of five matches against the Eagles and the first three against the Yotes.
Three SOU pairs enjoyed unbeaten days: No. 2
Linda Conceicao and
Grace Gulbrandsen, No. 4
Natalie Perez and
Andressa Ribeiro Soares, and No. 5
Kendal Hadwick and
Skyy Nihipali-Botelho.
Southern Oregon 4, Northwest 1
1. Caitlyn James/Kylie Lunday (NU) def
Madi Gray/
Tessa Zimmermann (SOU) 21-18, 22-20
2.
Grace Gulbrandsen/
Linda Conceicao (SOU) def Masa Spela Jarc/Aubree Dees (NU) 21-16, 21-17
3.
Kira Sandoval/
Lucretia Benolken (SOU) def Kylie Rankins/Ellie Van Berkum (NU) 21-10, 18-21, 16-14
4.
Natalie Perez/
Andressa Ribeiro Soares (SOU) def Sophia Rice/Oriana Muliaga (NU) 21-14, 21-12
5.
Skyy Nihipali-Botelho/
Kendal Hadwick (SOU) def Kali Dransfeldt/Ava Hoy (NU) 21-13, 21-14
Ex.
Addison Weckerle/
Vitoria Mattos (SOU) def Kylie Mickole Gajudo/Charlize Katz (NU) 21-12, 21-9
Order of finish: 2-4-5-1-3
Southern Oregon 3, College of Idaho 2
1. Haley Hoopes/Sydney Dews (CI) def.
Madi Gray/
Tessa Zimmermann (SOU) 13-21, 24-22, 15-13
2.
Grace Gulbrandsen/
Linda Conceicao (SOU) def. Deshy Sandoval/Greta Valaika (CI) 21-14, 21-14
3. Maya Blake/Liza Montalbo (CI) def.
Kira Sandoval/
Lucretia Benolken (SOU) 21-19, 16-21, 15-11
4.
Andressa Ribeiro Soares/
Natalie Perez (SOU) def. Faith Faucher/Ellie Baker (CI) 16-21, 21-16, 15-13
5.
Skyy Nihipali-Botelho/
Kendal Hadwick (SOU) def. Lauren Gauna/Dariya Tlevlessova (CI) 21-14, 21-16
Ex.
Addison Weckerle/
Vitoria Mattos (SOU) def Lainey Keppur/Manya Hoffner (CI) 21-16, 21-15
Order of finish: 2-4-5-1-3