WALLA WALLA, Wash. – Showing that they are not yet ready to relinquish their title as the kingpins of Northwest Conference men's tennis, the Whitman College Missionaries, ranked 15th in the NCAA Division III, dispatched the George Fox University Bruins 5-0 in the NWC Tournament finals Sunday afternoon here at Whitman's outdoor courts.

It was the second year in a row for the Bruins and the Missionaries to meet in the tournament finals, with similar results.  In the doubles matches, Whitman got wins from Andrew La Cava and Colton Malesovas over Justin McClain and Shawn Aldrich 8-6 at No. 1, Steven Roston and Andy Riggs over Chris Lilley and Peter Brown 8-3 at No. 2, and Matt Tesmond and Sam Sadeghi over Preston Mann and Drew Milton 8-3 at No. 3.

In the singles, Malesovas made it 4-0 for the Missionaries with a 6-2, 6-0 win over McClain at No. 1, and Sadeghi wrapped up the match in Whitman's favor with a 6-3, 6-4 decision over Mann at No. 4. 

Three other matches went unfinished.  At No. 2, Lilley won the first set 7-5 over La Cava and was down 2-1 in the second set when play ended, Riggs was up 6-2 and 4-1 over Aldrich at No. 3, and Roston was ahead of Milton 5-0 at No. 5.  The No. 6 singles had not yet started.

Whitman, the fifth-ranked team in the NCAA Division III West Region, is now 18-6 and will represent the NWC in the NCAA National Tournament first and second rounds on May 10-12.  George Fox, ranked 10th in the West Region, is finished with its dual match schedule at 14-5.  The Bruins set school record for most wins in a season this year, and established a new record for conference wins when they finished second in the NWC at 11-1.

Several of the Bruins will compete in the upcoming 112th Ojai Tournament Thursday-Sunday, Apr. 25-28, in Ojai, Calif.