NEWBERG, Ore -- The George Fox women's tennis team played UC Santa Cruzin several tight competitions on Monday afternoon — so tight, in fact, that the Bruins were unable to finish several matches in their 5-2 loss to the Banana Slugs. Several close contests were left unfinished after the visiting team was forced to leave in order to catch their flight back home.

How It Happened
All three doubles matches on the day were played down to the wire. The team of Brenna VanderYacht and Arianna Rader played down to the wire, and was the lone Bruin doubles squad to win, taking down UCSC, 8-6. The other two matches were played to 8-7 scores, with the teams of Kalli Wiker and Cassey Hitch, as well as Ellie Mangan and Olivia Morris, losing close contests.

The first four singles matches finished up play, once again with several close scores. Wiker took down Sara Beckman on court #1, winning 7-5, 7-5, the lone Bruin win for singles. Morris, Elizabeth Cook, and Emily McDonald all fought hard but came up short. 

With their other matches occupying so much time, the final two contests were unable to finish. Stephanie Ramirez Barreto came close to winning before time expired, but her match finished tied 6-2, 6-7. Hitch appeared to be on her way to a victory, leading 6-2, 1-0, when her game was called. Neither game would have affected the victory, as the Banana SLigs had already won five matches.

Coach's Thoughts
"We fought hard against a good UC Santa Cruz team," Bruin head coach RIck Cruz said, "We had opportunities in all of the doubles matches but couldn't quite capitalize in the end at one and two. Ari and Brenna did a great job of closing out their doubles match and Kalli had her best win ever at #1 singles. We had some good moments individually but we need to put it together as a team if we want to get where we want to as a team.

What It Means
The Bruins fall to 2-2 on the year, while UC Santa Cruz improves to 4-2.

What Comes Next
The Bruins will stay at home for their fifth consecutive game to start the spring season, taking on the College of Idaho at 4:00 pm on Friday.