WALLA WALLA, Wash. -- The George Fox men's tennis team's 2025-26 season came to a close against the number one-seeded Whitman Blues on Friday morning, dropping the Northwest Conference Semifinal match, 4-0.
How It Happened
Fox had needed key 4-3 victories the weekend prior against Linfield and Pacific to eke into the tournament as the fourth seed. Their reward? A match against the top team in the Northwest Conference, the Whitman Blues, who entered with a 16-5 overall mark and a 14-0 record in NWC play.
Whitman won two doubles matches to open up the competition with the doubles point;
Zach Moore and
Aiden Cruz battled against the Blues' Alexander Stage and Niklas Nordahl Johnson on court one, with the Blues winning the first two sets en route to a 6-3 win. It was a similar story on court three, with
Luis Hernandez and
Joseph Vece losing their first two sets in a 6-2 loss.Â
Although their match would not be completed,
Ikuho Ebisu and
Keita Shoji showed plenty of promise on court two. As the Blues clinched the doubles point, the pair led Artem Manov and Charles Rush, 5-4, in a match where the two teams traded sets.
In singles, the Bruins would win two sets, both in matches that were not completed in full. Moore took down Stage, the NWC Player of the Year, in the first set, 6-2, and was leading in the second when their match was called. Ebisu, meanwhile, won his first set, 6-3, and was up 3-0 in the second when the Blues clinched the match. Cruz had the other incomplete match and was trailing 6-0, 5-0.
Vece (6-1, 6-1), Hernandez (6-1, 6-0), and Shoji (6-1, 6-0), all dropped their singles matches to give Whitman the 4-0 win, in what would be the final matches in all three's collegiate careers.
What It Means
George Fox ends their season 9-10 (8-8 NWC), but qualified for the conference tourney for the 10th straight season. The Blues (16-5, 14-0 NWC) will host the winner of Whitworth and Lewis & Clark in the NWC Championship for the conference's automatic bid.
Up Next
The Bruins will look to make another conference tournament and try for their fifth NCAA Tournament appearance in seven seasons, in the 2026-27 campaign.
