VANCOUVER, Wash. -- George Fox men's tennis set a new program standard at the 2022 ITA Northwest Regional Championships by putting entrants into every spot of the semifinal and championship matches in A singles and doubles. In doing so, Fox guaranteed itself every available All-American honor this fall.

How It Happened - Friday

After day one, the Bruins had seven players that earned a spot in the round of 16 of the A Draw. Jackson Whittaker won his way in with a 6-1, 6-1 victory in his 8:00 am qualifying match and advanced to the round of 16 with another 6-1, 6-0 win over a Puget Sound opponent. 

Vahag Pashayan made it to the round of 16 with a 6-2, 6-2 win against a Linfield foe, Austin Stone won his way forward with a 6-2, 6-1 win against a Willamette foe, and Hunter Fujimori also advanced with a 6-0, 6-1 win against a player from Whitworth.

Camden Camacho advanced with a 6-0, 6-1 win, Lars Schmassmann moved into the round of 16 with a 6-3, 6-2 win against a Whitworth player, and Rox Rogers played his way forward with a 6-2, 6-0 win against a Puget Sound opponent.

All four of the Bruins' doubles pairings played their way into the second day of action as well. Whittaker teamed with Alle Banna to win 8-2 against a pair from Puget Tound and the duo of Schmassmann and Rogers advanced with an 8-4 victory against a team from Willamette.

Camacho and Pashayan won, 8-1, against a duo from Pacific (Ore.) and the team of Stone and Fujimori advanced with an 8-4 win over a tandem from Whitman.

In the B draw, Jonah Isa won his way forward with a straight-set sweep, 6-0, 6-0, into day two of the bracket and the round of 16.

How It Happened - Saturday

In A singles, Rogers won his way to the semifinals with wins of 6-0, 6-0, and 6-2, 6-2. Schmassmann won his first match of the day, 6-2, 6-1, before Rogers bounced his teammate from the bracket.

Camacho advanced to the semifinal to face Rogers on Sunday with two wins of 6-4, 6-1, and 6-4, 6-4. Fujimori won his first match on Saturday, 6-1, 6-1, and was bounced from the bracket by his teammate, Stone, 7-6 (9), 6-2, in the quarterfinals. For his part, Stone finished the day in the semifinals with wins of 6-1, 6-2 and the win over Fujimori.

Whittaker was eliminated in a marathon three-setter, 6-2, 4-6, 7-5, by a Lewis & Clark foe. Pashayan was the last Bruin active in singles and advanced to face teammate Stone on Sunday with wins of 6-0, 6-2 and 6-3, 7-6 (4).

In doubles, the semifinal would feature nothing but Bruins by the end of the day. Camacho and Pashayan made it with wins of 8-1 and 8-2 and faced teammates Stone and Fujimori. Stone and Fujimori won their way to that matchup with victories of 8-7 (1) and 8-5 before eliminating Camacho and Pashayan, 8-7 (5) in a gutty battle to earn a Sunday championship berth.

Rogers and Schmassmann won 8-0 and 8-1 to earn a fight against Banna and Whittaker on their side of the bracket. For their part, Banna and Whittaker won 8-7 (5) and 8-4 before Schmassmann and Rogers advanced to Sunday's championship with an 8-3 victory.

Isa cruised through the B bracket with wins of 6-1, 6-1 against a Whitworth Pirate, and 6-2, 6-3 against a Puget Sound player to earn a spot in the semifinal on Sunday.

How It Happened - Sunday

Sunday opened with the semifinal and championship singles matches in the A and B brackets. Isa won his way to the championship with a 6-4, 6-3 win over a Linfield Wildcat before finishing as the runner-up in his bracket with a 6-3, 7-5 final.

Pashayan and Stone squared off and the freshman prevailed, 7-5, 7-6 (4) to earn a spot in the championship. Camacho and Rogers faced off in the other semifinal and Rogers advanced, 6-3, 6-1.

In the championship bout between Rogers and the rookie Stone, Stone took the first set, 7-5. Rogers responded and won straight sets to earn a championship crown and his first All-American honor with a 6-0 win in set two and a 6-1 win in set three.

Rogers immediately turned around after his win on the singles courts to pair with Schmassmann for the doubles championship against Fujimori and Stone. Once again the veterans prevailed with a 6-1, 6-3 win to earn All-American honors and the title crown.

Coach's Thoughts 

"I am very proud of the way the guys played and fought this past weekend," coach Jeff Cero said afterward. "No doubt it is early in the year, and a lot of growth & development to be had for each of the players, but to come out and get six players in the Quarterfinals of our entire conference for singles, then sweep the semifinals for singles and doubles was pretty awesome to see.

"Rox came ready to play, and handled the pressure of playing teammates in a way that I think many of our guys can learn from. He not only showed great preparation and poise, but mentally and physically he was stellar throughout the entire tournament; it set the stone for his best tennis when he needed it. It's pretty sweet to say he is a two-time All-American now, and excited for him and Lars to take on the ITA Cup next week.

"Beyond Rox, I was very proud of all of the guys in so many different ways too. Austin showed great heart and played great on huge points all weekend, and made the finals of both singles and doubles in his first try; needless to say, he wants more and I'm excited to see where we can go with him. Lars played very solid, and is now an ITA All American after playing great doubles with Rox. Hunter played some of the best tennis we've seen so far from him, and is a direct result of the hard work he is currently putting in. Cam and Vahag making the semifinals in singles was a great accomplishment, and no doubt they will be ready to go in the spring for both singles and doubles. Jackson came up with some big wins in four tiebreaks this weekend, and it was great to see him and Alle make the semifinals in doubles. Jonah showed a lot of heart & willingness playing in his first ITA making the B Draw final as well."

What It Means

Fox has swept the ITAs for the fourth time and will send Schmassmann and Rogers to the ITA Cup. This also marks the first time the Bruins have occupied every semifinal spot in the A bracket for singles and doubles as a program, providing yet another example of the steady growth of the program.