2/15 - PREVIEW: Bruins Seeking Best Effort Throughout Lineup for Improvement in '07
NEWBERG, Ore. - With their two biggest winners from the 2006 season no longer available, the George Fox University Bruins will need consistently-strong efforts from all of their players as they seek to move up in the Northwest Conference men's tennis standings in 2007.
"If we play up to our potential, we can be competitive in almost all of our matches," says head coach Rick Cruz, "but I would emphasize that we need the very best effort out of all six players in the lineup if we are to walk off as winners. We won't have much margin for error."
The Bruins return six letterwinners from a squad that went 4-12 overall and in conference play in 2006, finishing seventh in the league, but lost four, including No. 1 player Tyson Hunter and No. 4 Billy Johnson. Hunter, a two-time All-Conference First Team left-hander, was 9-5 in singles and 5-9 in doubles, but elected to forego his senior season to concentrate on his studies. Johnson, 5-9 in singles and 9-5 in doubles, transferred after his freshman year for financial reasons.
"Certainly they will be missed," admits Cruz, "but our other players have accepted the challenge and are hitting the ball extremely well right now. If they can keep up their consistency, we'll be better than most people think."
Left-hander Kyle Pearson (Sr., Ben, Ore. / Bend HS) steps up from No. 2 to No. 1 singles and appears fully recovered from an ankle injury that cost him half his junior season. He was 2-7 in singles and 4-5 in doubles before going down. "Kyle is playing some of his best tennis right now and could be ready for a big senior year," notes Cruz.
As for the 2 through 6 slots, Cruz says, "We know pretty much who the five will be, but because their skill levels are so similar, we just don't know what order they will be in yet. You may see a lot of shifting around of the lineup, as how they are playing at a particular time will decide their rank."
Four of the five are returnees, with their order last year most often being Jordon Vargas (Jr., Camano Island, Wash. / Stanwood HS), lefty Mac Ovenell (Sr., Cashmere, Wash. / Cashmere HS), Ralf Schulz (So., Lake Oswego, Ore. / Lake Oswego HS), and Shawn McKenzie (Jr., Lake Oswego, Ore. / Lakeridge). Vargas was only 2-12 in singles but had the second-best doubles record at 6-6, Ovenell was 5-10 in singles and 5-11 in doubles, and Schulz was a combined 6-10. McKenzie, in limited action, was a combined 4-5.
Making a serious bid to break into the lineup, perhaps in the top half, is newcomer Nick Jenness (Fr., Gresham, Ore. / Sam Barlow HS). Jenness was impressive in the prestigious Pacific Northwest Intercollegiate Tennis Association Regional Tournament Sept. 22-24 at Whitman College in Walla Walla, Wash., going 2-2 against four NWC opponents.
Competing for time at No. 6 will be returnee Cameron Bedrosian (So., Vancouver, Wash. / CAM HS) and rookie Leon Rubalcava (Fr., Ephrata, Wash. / Ephrata HS). "Cam has shown good improvement," notes Cruz, "while Leon just needs some experience against players at this level; he was from a smaller school in Washington and had few opponents the caliber of those in our conference."
Cruz, who is also the Bruin women's tennis coach, is entering his ninth season as the men's coach at his alma mater. He will joined on the staff by his twin brother Rob Cruz, now in his seventh season as an assistant, and by former Bruin men's tennis player Luke Lesh, in his first year.
The season gets under way for the Bruins Friday, Feb. 16, with a conference match at the University of Puget Sound at 4 p.m. The first home match for the team is Saturday, Feb. 24, against Whitman College at 2 p.m.