BEAVERTON, Ore. – In an
early-season showdown for sole possession of first place in the
Northwest Conference men's race, the George Fox University
Bruins blanked the Pacific Lutheran University Lutes 9-0 in a match
that was moved from the GFU campus courts to here at the Tualatin
Hills Tennis Center's indoor bubble.
Unranked Pacific Lutheran was coming off an upset of the NCAA
Division III West Region's 12th-ranked team, Pacific
University, but the Bruins, who are ranked 11th in the West, made
sure the Lutes would not spring another surprise.
The doubles matches were closely contested but the Bruins took
all three. Shawn Aldrich and Chris Lilley took down Luke
Olson and Sam Angel 8-5 at No. 1, Justin McClain and Peter Brown
edged Taylor Dickey and Jason Bower 8-6 at No. 2, and Preston Mann
and Drew Milton were up 6-3 at No. 3 over Mitch and Jake Yannello
when the latter Lute had to retire due to an injury.
In the singles, McClain gave the Bruins a 4-0 lead when he
quickly dispatched Bower 6-0, 6-2 at No. 1. Mann followed
with a 6-3, 6-3 win at No. 4 to secure the team victory for the
Bruins.
Three of the remaining four singles went to third sets or
tiebreakers. At No. 2, Aldrich took the first set from Olson
6-3 but dropped the second 2-6 after injuring an ankle. Playing
through the pain, the Bruin prevailed in a third set tiebreaker
10-8.
“Shawn demonstrated what it means to be a Bruin
tonight,” commented George Fox head coach Neal
Ninteman. “Fighting off a nasty ankle injury and a
fired-up opponent, he really inspired our team.”
Lilley made it 7-0 when he finished off Angel 6-1, 2-6, 6-4 at
No. 3, and Milton downed Mitch Yanello, after a tough first set,
7-6 (8-6), 6-1. At No. 6, Chace Stalcup fell 4-6 in the first
set and was down 3-5 in the second and facing two matches points,
but rallied to win the set 7-5 to even the match. He then
closed out the Bruins' shutout with a 10-6 tiebreaker
win.
“Coming off their upset of Pacific, we knew this team
(PLU) was for real,” admitted team co-captain Mann.
“Our coaches did a fantastic job of keeping us focused during
the week and that really paid off for us tonight.”
George Fox is now 3-2 overall and 3-0 in the conference, while
Pacific Lutheran is 2-1 overall and in the league. Next up,
however, is perennial power Whitman College, which is ranked No. 13
nationally and No. 6 in the West. The Bruins and Missionaries
(2-1, NWC 2-0) are the only two unbeatens left in the conference
and will play Saturday evening at 6:00 p.m. at Tualatin Hills
following Whitman's Saturday match at Lewis & Clark
College at 11:00 a.m.
Pacific Lutheran is also in action Saturday, visiting Willamette
University for an 11:00 a.m. contest.