BEAVERTON, Ore. - In a match
that featured several closely-contested sets, the George Fox
University Bruins fell 8-1 to one of the teams expected to contend
for the Northwest Conference men's tennis title this season, the
Pacific Lutheran University Lutes, Saturday morning here at the
Tualatin Hills Tennis Center.
The match had originally been scheduled for the GFU campus
courts, but that venue had not dried out sufficiently from rains
the day before to be playable in time for the scheduled 10:00 a.m.
start.
The feature match of the day came at No. 2 doubles, where the
Bruins' Scott Barnett and Nick Jenness pushed the Lutes' Brent
Smoots and Taylor Dickey to the limit before succumbing 9-7.
PLU also prevailed at No. 1 doubles as Joel Trudel and Dustin
Peterson took an 8-3 match from Pedro and Juan Munoz, and at No. 3,
with Scott Sheldon and Brian Higginbotham downing Matthew Gardner
and Luke Pritchard 8-5.
In a battle of All-Conference players at No. 1 singles, 2009 NWC
Player of the Year Trudel of PLU edged Second Team All-NWC Barnett
of the Bruins 6-3, 6-4. The Lutes also took the next four
singles, with Peterson over Pedro Munoz 6-0, 6-3, Sheldon over Juan
Munox 6-2, 6-1, Dickey over Jenness 6-3, 6-0, and Higginbotham over
Gardner 6-3, 7-5. The Bruins picked up their lone win at No.
6, Luke Pritchard taking the measure of Kyle McKee 6-3, 6-3.
George Fox (2-4, NWC 1-4) is on the road, but not too far away,
for conference matches next weekend, visiting Pacific University
Friday at 3:00 p.m. and Linfield College Saturday at 1:00
p.m. Pacific Lutheran (6-2, NWC 6-2) goes across Tacoma to
battle the University of Puget Sound Wednesday at 4:00 p.m.
