WALLA WALLA, Wash. – For the second year
in a row, George Fox University will try to knock off the
nationally-ranked Whitman College Missionaries after the Bruins
advanced to the finals of the Northwest Conference Men's
Tennis Tournament with a 5-0 win over the Pacific Lutheran
University Lutes Saturday evening here at Whitman's outdoor
courts.
George Fox (14-4) will take on Whitman (17-6), which eliminated
the Pacific University Boxers 5-0 in the other semi-final match
Saturday afternoon, Sunday at 12:00 noon for the conference crown
and the automatic bid to the NCAA Division III National Tournament
which goes with winning the NWC Tournament. The Bruins and
Missionaries met in last year's title match, with Whitman
winning 5-0. Whitman is ranked No. 15 in the nation this year and
No. 5 in the West Region, while George Fox is No. 10 in the
West. PLU, which finished with an 11-8 record, was No. 14 in
the West.
In Saturday's play, the Bruins opened the match by taking
the No. 1 and No. 3 doubles with relative ease, but had to go to
the wire for the No. 2 win. At No. 1, Justin McClain and
Shawn Aldrich claimed an 8-1 victory over Jason Bower and Taylor
Dickey, while Preston Mann and Drew Milton handled Mitch and Jake
Yannello 8-4 at No. 3. Chris Lilley and
Peter Brown were pushed to the very end by Luke
Olson and Sam Angel before prevailing 9-8 (7-2) at No. 2.
Up 3-0, the Bruins needed only two more matches to secure the
semi-final win. Aldrich defeated Angel 6-3, 6-1 at No. 3, and
Mann topped Mitch Yannello 6-1, 6-4 at No. 4 to finish off the
Bruins' triumph.
Matches 1 and 2 went unfinished, while 5 and 6 never
started. At No. 1, McClain took the first set from Bower 6-2
but was trailing 5-4 in the second when play was halted. At
No. 2, Lilley had won the first set 6-1 and the second was knotted
5-5 when the Bruins completed the win.
George Fox's win extended its record for the most wins in
a season; the previous record had been 11, set last year.