NEWBERG, Ore. --- George Fox hosted its third and final NCAA Division I opponent of the 2022 season and battled hard in a 2-5 defeat at the hands of the Montana Grizzlies, a squad ranked no. 63 in the Division I ITA computer rankings.

How It Happened

Playing by NCAA DI rules for the third straight match, the Bruins started from behind as the Griz swept doubles as a team to claim the doubles point for an early 1-0 lead. Fox was competitive throughout with two 6-4 final scores and a 6-3 defeat at the second matchup. The Griz' main edge was in service, but Fox otherwise matched up well on groundstroke volleys with their DI opponents.

Singles play also tilted to the Griz, but Fox battled well at each spot in the lineup, even if the box score doesn't show it. All six Bruins made their opponents work for each game, and the Bruins earned both of their points in the match on the singles courts.

Luke Lemaitre prevailed in a tiebreak with a 2-6, 7-5 (7-3), 10-8 win at the second singles matchup, fighting his way back into the lead and then holding the momentum to the end.

Luis Rojas picked up the Bruins' other singles point via retirement. Rojas trailed early before fighting back to tie his set at 6-6, and the Griz competitor - who had already been battling an injury sustained mid-set - chose not to continue.

Camden Camacho didn't come away as a winner in singles, but he fought to the end in a matchup that went to tiebreak with a 7-5, 2-6, 4-10 final at the sixth and final singles matchup of the afternoon.

Coach's Thoughts

"It was a good effort from the guys against a nationally-ranked division 1 team; I thought we could've played more disciplined doubles and kept it cleaner as a whole when we needed it," coach Jeff Cero said after the match.
"Singles was a battle, as Montana is very deep as a team. We fought and gave ourselves chances, and fortunately some of the matches fell our way. I thought Rox, Luke, and Camden played very well today. In some ways it's good to have these matches where we saw mistakes and missed opportunities; it helps a lot in our development as a team on and off the court as we prepare for conference. We are looking forward to this next weekend, and Pacific the following weekend for sure."

What It Means

Fox finishes a challenging non-conference opening schedule at 2-1 against three NCAA DI opponents and should be sharp for its upcoming conference opener.

Up Next

Fox hosts Whitworth on Mar. 5 to open its Northwest Conference schedule with a 10:00 am start time in Newberg.