NEWBERG, Ore. -- Trailing in every match midway through the doubles matches of the Northwest Conference Championships, the George Fox men's tennis team staged a furious comeback to shift the tides and win all three en route to their third consecutive NWC title with a 5-1 win over Pacific.

How It Happened
All three of the Bruins doubles teams won in tiebreakers in a thrilling first section of the day. The first to finish was court three, where the team of Austin Stone and Eli Mizerski won their match, 8-7 (8-5). Mizerski and Stone traded blows with Kolby Murata Aidan Rooney, with neither team jumping out. 

Lars Schmassmann and Hunter Fujimori were the second team to win their match, winning their tiebreaker, 8-5. The duo had fallen behind before fighting back to take the lead. Finally, the team of Vahag Pashayan and Camden Camacho completed the biggest comeback of the day; after trailing 4-0 to the 11th-ranked doubles team in the region, Pashayan and Camacho clawed their way back into the match, leading 7-6 before winning, 8-7 (8-3).

The huge momentum shift was audible from the nearby lacrosse field, as the three tight wins put the Bruins in the driver's seat. From there, Schmassmann and Furjimori locked down, winning their matches 6-1, 6-3, and 7-5, 6-2 to give Fox the NWC Championship.

Coach's Thoughts
"I'm so proud of the guys for pulling this match out, and for accomplishing winning another Conference title," Bruin head coach Jeff Cero said, "It was tight, to say the least, and Pacific competed so well on such little rest coming out of yesterday's match. They deserved a lot of credit, and they deserve a lot of respect. We came out flat in doubles and somehow pulled out all three of them through clutch play and a little help. We started off the singles very strong but had a few moments where we kinda had a lull and gave away a lot of points and games, and let them into it. Overall, it was another good match for a young team like ours to learn from, and we are so excited to build off of it, and play our best tennis in the NCAA Tournament coming up!"

What Happens Next
The Bruins will wait and see where they play in the first round of the 2023 NCAA Tournament on May 5-7.