NEWBERG, Ore. --- George Fox men's tennis finished its season sweep of the NWC championships by clinching the tournament title, 5-4, on its home court over Pacific (Ore.) in a battle that came down to a tiebreak set at court six.

How It Happened

The Bruins took two of the three doubles points with an 8-2 win at no. 1 doubles and an 8-3 win at no. 3 doubles. Will Leach paired with Luke Lemaitre at no. 1 and Camden Camacho worked with Vahag Pashayan to take the third flight. The Boxers took the second flight to prevent the clean sweep.

In singles, the Boxers attempted to steal off with the match in a race to five points with wins at the second, third, and fourth flights. Lemaitre won his no. 1 singles matchup to put George Fox back in the hunt with a 6-1, 6-0 win and made the match score 4-3 in favor of the Boxers with that win.

In a battle at no. 5, Rox Rogers prevailed 7-6 (7-0), 6-3 to level the score at 4-4. Everything hinged on the sixth singles matchup for Camacho, who battled back to force a tiebreak set with a 3-6, 6-2 split. Camacho jumped out early in set three and then fought to the finish with a 3-6, 6-2, 6-1 win to seal the Bruins' clean sweep of the NWC titles this season. The Bruins stormed the court to celebrate with a cramping Camacho after his opponent's serve return went into the net to clinch the win.

"I just told myself, play like you did in the second set and wait until he breaks mentally," Camacho said of his mindset in the critical sixth flight. "I got up 3-0, knew I was up two breaks, and didn't get down on myself if I lost a break at that point. Having my teammates watching and cheering me on [from court five] was great as we're all just yelling and cheering."

Coach's Thoughts

"What an incredible match, first and foremost," coach Jeff Cero said afterward. "All the credit in the world to Pacific and coach Yellico. They fought extremely hard and never quit, but someone had to pull it out. All the credit in the world to Reyn, Rayden, and Sean [on Pacific] for their play on the court and their leadership off it. With that said, I'm so proud of our guys and the way they stepped up, fought, finished the season, and won the two titles. This team has fought so hard to break the ceiling and win the two titles and this is amazing. 

"I'm not gonna lie, they were surprised by the conference awards and I think they used that as motivation to prove they were the best team in the conference this year. This has been an incredible season, we are excited to make a splash at nationals, and we hope for this to be the first of many to come!"

What It Means

The 2021 Bruin roster is the first in program history to sweep the season titles and earn the right to represent the conference at Nationals. The Bruins will await the results of the NCAA selection show to find out where the team will travel to, and which of its individuals will be playing later in May at the individual national events.