WALLA WALLA, Wash. –Lewis & Clark College men's tennis saw its season come to a close Saturday afternoon in the Northwest Conference Tournament semifinals, falling 4-0 to second-seeded George Fox University at the Whitman Tennis Courts.
THE BASICS
#2 George Fox 4, #3 Lewis & Clark 0
Lewis & Clark (13-6, 10-4 NWC)
George Fox (13-6, 12-2 NWC)
HOW IT HAPPENED
Despite a confidence-building win over the Bruins earlier in the year, the Pioneers were unable to find their footing in a rematch against a familiar conference foe.
George Fox jumped out to an early lead by winning the doubles point. At No. 1 doubles, sophomores
Joey Lyon and
Noah Sutin fell 6-2 to Lars
Schmassmann and Keita Shoji. The Bruins clinched the point moments later with a 6-2 win at No. 3 over senior
Matt Chio and junior
Spencer Loucks. The
No. 2 doubles match, featuring juniors
Wade McDermott and
Kai Wills, was left unfinished with the Pios leading 5-4.
In singles, the Bruins built on their lead. Sutin dropped a 6-3, 6-4 match at No. 2 to Zack Moore, and first-year
Arnav Bishnoi fell 6-2, 6-4 at No. 5 to Jackson Whittaker. Ikuho Ebisu delivered the clinching point for George Fox with a 6-0, 7-6 (4) win over McDermott at No. 3.
Three matches went unfinished, including an exciting battle at No. 1 singles where Lyon had split sets with NWC Player of the Year Lars Schmassmann (6-4, 4-6) and trailed 1-0 in the third. At No. 4, Chio held a 3-1 lead in the third set after splitting the first two (6-1, 1-6). Wills was in the midst of a second-set comeback at No. 6, leading 5-4 after dropping the opener 6-2.
BY THE NUMBERS
- The Pioneers finished the 2024-25 season with a 13-6 overall record, including a 10-4 mark in conference play.
- Senior Matt Chio concluded his career with 77 total victories, including a West Region Fall ITA consolation bracket title this past fall and 25 wins in his final season.
- The six players who competed in Saturday's semifinal combined for 82 singles victories and posted a .607 winning percentage (82-53) on the year.
WHAT'S NEXT
Lewis & Clark is slated to return 10 players from this year's squad that finished third in the Northwest Conference, including All-NWC selections Lyon and Sutin, as well as McDermott, Wills, Loucks and Bishnoi.
