CLAREMONT, Calif., – The George Fox men's tennis team continued its string of matches against top-25-ranked opponents. On Tuesday, they nearly completed the upset over eighth-ranked Williams Ephs, losing 5-4. 

How It Happened 
The Bruins kept their doubles teams the same for the second match in a row against Williams. Vahag Pashayan and Nanase Ebisu nearly secured the win in number one singles, losing 8-5. Lars Schmassmann and Eli Mizerski jumped out to win their number two match, 8-7. Hunter Fujimori and Zach Moore continued to play well together, securing the second win for the Bruins, 8-7. Fox looked to continue its success in singles. 

Eli Mizerski faced off against Matt Kandel, the nation's number four singles player. The sophomore was unable to hold off Kandel, losing 6-3, 6-0. Pashayan and Fujimori played in the number two and three spots, respectively. Pashayan lost, 6-3, 6-1, and Fujimori lost 6-0, 6-3. Schmassmann secured the singles point for the Bruins keeping Fox in the hunt for the win. Schammssmann won his match in two sets, 6-4, 6-3. Alle Banna kept the first set close, losing narrowly, 6-4. His opponent started to pull ahead in the second set, and Banna would lose, 6-1. Before the match was over, George Fox secured one additional point when Nanase Ebisu won his match in the tiebreaker. Ebisu lost the first set, 6-4, before coming back to secure a second set win, 6-4. Ebisu was able to get to pull out the win in the tiebreaker. Ultimately, the Bruins did not secure the upset, losing narrowly, 5-4. 

What's Next
The Bruins are now 4-7 and the Ephs improved to 8-1 on the year. George Fox will return to the court tomorrow to play at No. 25 Caltech in Pasadena, California. The match is scheduled to begin at 10:00 a.m.