BEAVERTON, Ore. - Stepping outside the Northwest Conference for the first time in the 2010-11 women's tennis season, the George Fox University Bruins dropped a 7-2 decision to the visiting Hardin-Simmons University Cowgirls from Abilene, Texas, in a match moved here to the Tualatin Hills Tennis Center from the GFU campus courts.

The Cowgirls took the No. 1 doubles as Lisa Mertz and Jennifer Cheung downed the Bruins' Molly Beaumont and Cara Griffith 8-4, and the No. 3 doubles, Angie Nhan and Danielle Cochran cruising by Liliya Abildayeva and Bethany Nguyen 8-2.  The Bruins took the No. 2 doubles behind Alyssa Emoto and Shaina Inn, who topped Lauren Jay and Alex Ortiz 8-5.

Inn was also victorious for the Bruins at No. 4 singles as she dispatched Nhan 7-5, 6-1, but the other five singles all belonged to the visitors.  Mertz downed Beaumont 7-5, 6-2 at No. 1; Jay topped Emoto 6-4, 6-0 at No. 2; Cheung edged Griffith 6-4, 6-3 at No. 3; Cochran conquered Abildayeva 6-1, 6-1 at No. 5; and Ortiz out-pointed Nguyen 6-1, 6-1 at No. 6.

NEXT: George Fox (2-6) will try to snap a five-game skid when the Bruins take on Simpson College of Iowa for the start of their spring break trip to Orlando, Fla., on Wednesday at 11:00 a.m. Eastern time ... Hardin-Simmons (6-4) will play twice on Tuesday, at Willamette University at 10:30 a.m. and at Linfield College at 3:30 p.m.