NEWBERG, Ore. – After a five-hour delay due to high humidity in the George Fox University Multi-Use Facility, Lewis & Clark College men's tennis dropped a 6-1 decision to four-time defending Northwest Conference champion George Fox on Sunday afternoon.
THE BASICS
George Fox 6, Lewis & Clark 1
(Lewis & Clark 7-2,4-1 NWC)
(George Fox 3-1, 3-0 NWC)
HOW IT HAPPENED
Sophomore
Joey Lyon led the Pioneers with victories in both singles and doubles play. He secured Lewis & Clark's lone singles point with a straight-set win at the number two spot and partnered with sophomore
Noah Sutin for a dominant victory at second doubles.
Two singles matches went the distance, as senior
Matt Chio and junior
Kai Wills each forced a third set in their respective matches at the third and fifth positions.
The day began with doubles competition, where the Pioneers earned one of the three matches. Sutin and Lyon set the tone at No. 2 doubles with a commanding 6-1 victory over George Fox's Jackson Whittaker and Luis Hernandez. However, the Bruins secured the doubles point by winning at No. 1, where Lars Schmassmann and Ikuho Ebisu defeated juniors
Wade McDermott and Wills 6-2, and at No. 3, where Keita Shoji and Zach Moore topped Chio and junior
Spencer Loucks 6-4.
In singles play, Lyon provided the bright spot for Lewis & Clark with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Moore at the second position. The match featured several competitive battles, particularly at No. 3 singles, where Chio won the first set in a tiebreak before falling to Ebisu 6-7(5), 6-2, 6-1, and at No. 5, where Wills pushed Whittaker to three sets before falling 6-3, 6-7(2), 6-3.
At the top spot, Sutin faced a strong challenge from Schmassmann, falling 6-3, 6-3. McDermott competed at No. 4 singles, where Shoji prevailed 6-4, 6-1, while Loucks battled at No. 6 singles before dropping a 6-4, 6-4 decision to Hernandez.
BY THE NUMBERS
- Lyon improved to 4-0 in NWC singles play and extended his winning streak to five matches.
- The Pioneers' 4-1 start in NWC play is their best since opening 4-1 in the spring of 2019.
- Sutin and Lyon are 8-2 overall as a doubles team, riding a six-match winning streak and a 4-0 record in NWC play.
WHO'S NEXT
Lewis & Clark returns home to host Puget Sound on Saturday at noon at the L&C Tennis Dome.
