NEWBERG, Ore. --- George Fox University's men's tennis team broke an eight year streak Saturday afternoon, as the Bruins swept the No. 13-ranked Whitman College Missionaries in doubles, but fell 5-4 in the match.

Spencer Watanabe and Andrew You set the tone for the Bruins early in doubles taking down Jake Hoeger and Zach Hewlin, 8-3. Chris Lilley and Chace Stalcup continued their teammate's fantastic start defeating James Rivers and Phillip Locklear, 8-2. Nicholas Grafton and Vincent Viloria closed out doubles with a 9-8 (7-2) victory.

It was the first time since 2007 that a conference opponent has swept Whitman in doubles.

"Our energy and execution in doubles was spectacular today," said head coach Neal Ninteman. "Sweeping the doubles against a team of Whitman's caliber is a tremendous accomplishment, and a very encouraging sign of how talented and hardworking this team is." 

The Missionaries battled back in singles and won the No. 2 and No. 1 spot after two straight sets. The streak continued for Whitman at the No. 5 spot evening the match up after Chase Friedman defeated Viloria 6-2, 6-1.

Watanabe knotted the match up with a huge victory over Whitman's Phillip Locklear at the No. 3 spot to set the stage an epic showdown at the No. 6 spot.

Mitchell Miyashiro played James Rivers in the final set of the day, but fell just short as Whitman won the set after a 6-2, 6-0 finish.

"Of course it's tough to come so close to what would've been a monumental win," added Ninteman. "The real takeaway for us is not that we lost a close match, but rather how closely we competed against one of the premier teams in the nation. We're right there with them, and today proved it." 

The Bruins stand at 1-1 on the season and 0-1 in the NWC. Whitman improves to 5-1 overall and 1-0 in the NWC.

George Fox will host Whitworth tomorrow afternoon at 11:00 a.m. at home.