by Jared Beilby, Student Intern
PARKLAND, Wash. – By sweeping the doubles
portion and then winning five out of six singles matches, the
George Fox University Bruins beat the Pacific Lutheran University
Lutes 8-1 in a Northwest Conference men's tennis match Friday
afternoon here at the Sprinker Recreation Center to nail down third
place in the conference.
George Fox, ranked 12th in the NCAA Division III West Region,
improves to 10-4 overall and 8-3 in the conference, while Pacific
Lutheran falls to 5-12 overall and 4-7 in the NWC. With the 8-3
conference mark, the Bruins are nestled in third place with one
match to play as they are two ahead of Whitworth University (7-10,
6-5 NWC) and Lewis & Clark College (6-10, 6-5 NWC) while being
two wins behind second-place Pacific University (14-3, 11-1
NWC).
The Bruin duo of Chris Lilley and Justin
McClain took the No. 1 doubles, beating Jake Yanello and Spencer
Herron 9-7. At No. 2, Preston Man and Chace Stalcup defeated Neal
Berg and Sam Angel 8-6, while Nick Grafton and Mitchell Miyashiro
enjoyed an 8-4 win over Sam Stadter and James Okubo at No. 3 to
give the Bruins a 3-0 lead heading into the singles side of the
match.
Lilley swept Angel 6-0, 6-0 at No. 2 for the biggest George Fox
win in singles. Mann took the No. 3 match from Herron 6-1, 6-0,
while Mitchell rallied to win at No. 4, 3-6, 6-1, 6-2 over
Okubo.
George Fox was victorious at Nos. 5 and 6, too, as Stalcup beat
Jeremy Marsh 6-2, 6-2 at No. 5, and Grafton claimed a 6-3, 6-1 win
over Brandon Bulaclac at No. 6. Stadter was the lone Lute to score
a win as he beat McClain 6-4, 6-4 at No. 1.
NEXT: George Fox stays in western Washington to
face the University of Puget Sound (3-12, 2-9 NWC) Saturday at 11
a.m. to close out the regular season … Pacific Lutheran
hosts Lewis & Clark at 1 p.m. on Saturday in their season
finale.