NEWBERG, Ore. -- The George Fox women's tennis team hosted the ITA Northwest Regional Championships, and the small yet mighty Bruins impressed with several standout performances.

How It Happened
Players from all eight NWC teams competed in the Northwest Regional, competing in three brackets — A doubles bracket and "A" and "B" brackets for singles.

The story of the day for the Bruins was Riley Bobkiewicz in the singles, who advanced to the semifinals. The junior was seeded fourth in the "A" singles side, and won her first two matches to advance to the quarterfinals. There, she defeated sixth-seeded Faith Kert of Whitworth 6-2, 6-1 before moving to the semifinals. In the semis, Bobkiewicz won the first set against Nana Vang, 6-4, before dropping the final two sets (6-2, 6-3) to the eventual champion.

While Juhree Kizziar lost her first match on the "A" side, she advanced to the consolation finals thanks to several gutsy wins. Kizziar won her first match of the consolation bracket over UPS's Kaylee Yamada (7-5, 3-6, [10-1]) and defeated Linfield's Emily Redwood (6-2, 6-0) before downing Jordan Turner of Whitworth in another three-setter (7-5, 7-6, [10-6]). She would ultimately lose in the final to Pacific's Tiara Yueng, 6-0, 6-1.

Sophie Denham and Nicole Schnurbusch also competed in the tournament, with Denham advancing to the "A" consolation quarterfinals and Schnurbusch making the "B" consolation finals. There, she faced Lewis & Clark's Madison Vianzon, dropping the match, 6-2, 6-4.

On the doubles side, Schnurbusch and Kizziar dropped their first matchup to the Pios' Charlotte Makoni and Susanna Anad, 8-1. Bobkiewicz and Denham, meanwhile, won their first match, 8-1, and their second 8-6. The duo beat Redwood and Kaitlyn Canubida in the quarters, 1-8 before falling in the semis to the eventual champions Sascha Wells and Nan Vang, 8-3.

Coach's Thoughts
"The girls had a great weekend!" Bruin head coach Rick Cruz said, "Riley played great all week and was just a few games away from reaching the finals. Riley and Sophie made a great run in the doubles losing to the eventual champions in the semis. Nicole and Juhree had tough first rounds but made it to the final of their respective consolation draw. I couldn't be more proud of how all of them competed!"

Up Next
The Bruins will be off the rest of the fall before returning stronger than ever in the spring.