By: Ryan Lackey
LOS ANGELES, Calif. --- The high powered men's tennis team of George Fox started its California road trip with a split, beating to Occidental 7-2 and falling to Vassar 6-3.
Occidental Match
Only a rare singles loss from Andrew You and a tremendous effort from Vincent Viloria that came up a little short blemished the Bruins' rollicking 7-2 victory over Occidental College on Friday. Every match saw the Bruins play the sort of disciplined, passionate tennis that's led them to a triumphant season to date.
The dynamic pair of Andrew You and Spencer Watanabe did exactly what was necessary to defeat Occidental's Josh Dancu and Avery Chemin in the #1 match, 8-5, limiting mistakes and capitalizing on opportunities. Chace Stalcup and Chris Lilley had the same idea in the #2 doubles match, never too troubled on their way to an 8-6 win. Vincent Viloria and Nicholas Grafton took the #3 match by the same score.
Josh Dancu took a little vengeance in the #1 singles match, defeating an unusually off-kilter You 6-4, 6-1. Watanabe made up for it in the #2 match, though, trouncing Eric Kazangian 6-1, 6-2.
Chris Lilley won the most exciting match of the day, overcoming Chemin in a back-and forth #3 match that finished 7-5, 2-6, 10-4. Grafton won the #4 match more conventionally, 6-2, 6-2.
Occidental's Bryson Lee was just a little too good for Viloria in the #5 match, claiming it 6-3, 6-4. In the #6 match, Nick Ekern put away Occidental's Jesse Kreger, 6-3, 6-3.
Vassar Match
The high-flying Bruins ran into an excellent Vassar College team on Saturday and saw their three-game winning streak snapped with a 6-3 loss. Though the Bruins took two of the three doubles matches, Vassar dominated the singles competition, winning all save one.
Spencer Watanabe and Andrew You nearly emerged victorious from the #1 doubles match but lost to Vassar's Nick Litsky and Daniel Cooper, who were just a little more clinical, 9-7. In the #2 doubles, Chris Lilley and Chace Stalcup battled Christian Phelps and Evan Udine, and the Bruins' tandem played graceful tennis towards an 8-6 victory. Nicholas Grafton and Vincent Viloria had an easier go in the #3 doubles, taking the match by a comfortable 8-1 margin.
In the singles, however, Vassar shined. In spite of Watanabe's inspired play, Litsky was calm, collected, and he claimed the #1 singles for Vassar, 7-5, 6-4. Daniel Cooper seemed to keep one step ahead of You throughout the #2 match, keeping the George Fox star off-balance en route to a 6-2, 6-3 win.
Chris Lilley won the only singles match for the Bruins, the #3 match, against Vassar's Phelps. Lilley was smooth and accurate, making just a handful of mistakes in his textbook 6-3, 6-0 win.
Nicholas Grafton played passionate tennis and certainly outran opponent Evan Udine, but Udine was the better player on Saturday, winning 6-3, 6-1.
Juan Felipe Laso defeated George Fox's Nick Ekem in a very streaky, entertaining #5 match, 6-1, 0-6, 6-3. In the #6 match, Alexander Luckmann overcame the Bruins' Mitchell Miyahsiro, 6-2, 6-1.
The rare loss means the Bruins stand at 10-3 on the year. They will look to right the ship on Tuesday against hosts Chapman University.
