NEWBERG, Ore. – For
the second straight time, a George Fox University women's
tennis match came down to Ali Diehl in the No. 6
singles slot, and once again she came through with a huge victory,
giving the Bruins a 5-4 Northwest Conference win over the visiting
Pacific University Boxers and the best start in team history here
Sunday afternoon.
The match was started at the GFU campus courts, but rain
began to fall around 3:30 with George Fox ahead 4-3 and the No. 2
and No. 6 singles still going. With no neutral-site indoor
courts immediately available, the match shifted to Forest Grove and
Pacific's indoor courts for completion.
“The No. 2 singles was just about over and the match
was going to be even, but Ali was up 4-0 in the first set of her
match and we didn't want her to lose momentum,”
admitted George Fox head coach Rick Cruz. “The courts
at Pacific are a different surface than ours, requiring a different
pace of play, and that could have affected Ali, but she
didn't let it bother her and came through in the clutch
big-time.”
Diehl proceeded to polish off the Boxers' Kelly
Flores 6-1, 6-1, clinching the Bruins' third straight win to
open the season (and 2-0 in conference play). This is the
first time since the program began in 1996 that the Bruins have
ever won their first three matches; the 2002 team began 2-0 but
lost its third match.
The Bruins opened play against the Boxers with an 8-4 win
at No. 3 doubles by Diehl and Megan Dahlberg over Flores and
Danielle Hunter, but the Boxers took the other two doubles.
Kaitlyn Lomartire and Francesca Battaglia topped Alyssa Emoto and
Chantelle Hadeed 8-3 at No. 1, and Carlee Rhodaback and Kelsey Lack
rallied from a 6-5 deficit to defeat Taylor Barnes and Krista Rey
8-6 at No. 2.
Dahlberg evened the match by making quick work of Lack
6-0, 6-1 at No. 5 singles, but the Boxers went back in front as
Lomartire dispatched Emoto 6-1, 6-2 at No. 1. The Bruins
regained the lead as Rey trimmed Danielle Wicks 6-3, 6-1 at No. 4
and Hadeed handled Rhodaback 6-3, 6-4 at No. 3, but then the rains
came and forced the match to move.
Battaglia completed her 6-3, 7-6 (8-6) win over Barnes at
No. 2 at Pacific, leaving the No. 6 singles to decide the match,
and Diehl came through for the Bruins, just as she had done on
Friday to give them a 5-4 win over Lewis & Clark College.
Pacific thus fell to 1-2 overall and 0-2 in the NWC.
NEXT: George Fox faces a
stiff challenge to keeping its streak alive as the Bruins host two
of the conference favorites next weekend, playing Whitworth
University Friday at 4:00 p.m. and Whitman College Saturday at
11:00 a.m. … Pacific hosts Pacific Lutheran University
Friday at 4:00 p.m.
