SPOKANE, Wash. - A hot start in the doubles
matches proved to be just the impetus the George Fox University
men's tennis team needed to bounce back from their first
Northwest Conference loss of the season the day before, and the
Bruins went on to a 6-3 win over the Whitworth University Pirates
Sunday afternoon here at the Scotford Tennis Center.
Recovering quickly from their 9-0 setback at the hands of
16th-ranked Whitman College on Saturday, the Bruins, ranked 11th in
the NCAA Division III West Region, improved to 3-2 overall and 3-1
in the conference. The Pirates, ranked 19th in the West
Region, dropped to 3-3 overall and 3-1 in the NWC, suffering their
first league defeat.
The George Fox doubles team of Justin McClain
and Chris Lilley, who are the 11th-ranked pair in the West, opened
the match with an 8-3 win over the Whitworth tandem of Drew Brigham
and Shane Sandlin at No. 1. Preston Mann and Chace Stalcup
won the closest doubles of the day 8-6 over Troy Patterson and
Blake Miller at No. 2, and Mitchell Miyashiro and Nick Grafton put
the Bruins in excellent shape to win the match with an 8-4 triumph
over John Talbot and Matt Goebel.
McClain at No. 1 and Lilley at No. 2 wasted no time in sewing up
the match for the Bruins as they were the first singles to
finish. McClain took a 6-3, 6-3 decision over Brigham and
Lilley downed Chris Engelmann 6-4, 6-4 as the Bruins took a 5-0
lead. With the match already decided, the Pirates finally
picked up their first two wins when Talbot topped Mann 4-6, 6-1,
1-0 (10-6) at No. 3 and Miller stopped Stalcup 7-5, 6-2 at No.
4. Nick Grafton captured the Bruins' final singles at
No. 6, downing Goebel 6-4, 6-2. At No.5, Whitworth got its
final win as Sandlin edged Miyashiro 6-4, 4-6, 1-0 (10-8).
NEXT: George Fox returns home to host the
University of Puget Sound on Friday at 3:00 p.m. before hitting the
road for southern California for three matches in four day at the
Las Palmas Tennis Resort in Rancho Mirage … Whitworth
welcomes in Pacific University Saturday for a 12:00 noon
contest.
