McMINNVILLE, Ore. - Putting
forth one of their most tenacious efforts against the Northwest
Conference leaders, the George Fox University Bruins went downing
fighting 8-1 to their Yamhill County rivals, the Linfield College
Wildcats, in men's tennis action Saturday afternoon here at the
Linfield Tennis Center.
The Wildcats jumped on top with a sweep of the doubles, Mark
Magdaong and Brent Kingzett downing Juan and Pedro Munoz 8-2 at No.
1, Kyle Anderson and Tal DeWitt taming Nick Jenness and Matthew
Gardner 8-3 at No. 2, and Matt Kauffman and Cody Levien overturning
Ross Budreau and Garrett Thompson 8-1 at No. 3.
The Bruins' lone win of the day came at No. 6 singles as
Chris Schoon picked up his first college victory
with a 6-2, 7-6 (7-4) decision over Tim Wagar. In the other
matches, Magadaong dropped Jenness 6-2, 6-2 at No. 1; Anderson
ousted Pedro Munoz 6-1, 6-2 at No. 2; DeWitt downed Juan Munoz 6-3,
7-5 at No. 3; Mitchell Davidson defeated Gardner 6-1, 6-2 at No. 4;
and Tal Edman toppled Luke Pritchard 6-3, 6-3 at No. 5.
"Although the final score won't show it, this was one of our
best performances of the season against a very talented Linfield
lineup," said first-year George Fox coach Neal Ninteman. "The
progress we are making is obvious, and a number of other coaches in
the conference are noticing our improved competitiveness.
"Nick Jenness put on an impressive performance at No. 1,
stepping up from No. 4 in the absence of Scott Barnett, who is on a
school retreat. He played superbly and stood toe-to-toe with
one of the league's top players, giving him everything he could
handle. It was actually a very tight match loaded with long,
tight games.
"Juan Munoz put on a valiant and gutsy performance at No. 3
singles, taking a veteran down to the wire in both sets. And
Schoon won a tough 'David and Goliath' battle to get his
first college win; he was down 4-1 in the tiebreaker with big
server Wagar serving, and little Chris rattled off six straight
points to close the match."
George Fox (2-6, NWC 1-6) visits Willamette University Friday
for a 2:30 p.m. match, while Linfield (6-1, NWC 6-0), the
12th-ranked team in the NCAA Division III West Region, hosts
Willamette Saturday at 1:00 p.m.
