McMINNVILLE, Ore. – Undaunted by its opponent’s regional ranking, the George Fox men’s tennis club defeated Linfield 5-4 Tuesday at the Linfield Tennis Center.

With the win, the Bruins improve to 3-1 in the Northwest Conference and 4-1 overall. The Wildcats, ranked ninth in the West Region, even their record at 2-2 in league action and 2-2 overall.

Mark Magdaong was the bright spot for the ‘Cats, as he was the only Linfield player to win both his singles and doubles matches. He won the No. 1 singles match against George Fox’s Scott Barnett 7-4, 6-4 and teamed with Brent Kingzett to defeat Barnett and Preston Mann 8-4 in doubles play.

The Bruins took care of business in the other two doubles matches. Peter Brown and Josiah Jackson knocked off Cody Levien and Zachery Lyons (Sr., Vancouver, Wash.) 9-8 (8-3). No. 3 pair Justin McClain and Andy Tweet bested Tal DeWitt and Tim Wagar 9-8 (8-7).

“We dug too big a hole in doubles,” said head coach Carl Swanson. “It’s tough to lose two tiebreakers in doubles and bounce back, but we did and fought the good fight.”

Linfield and George Fox split the singles matches, getting three wins each. In addition to Magdaong’s victory at the No. 1 slot, Levien and Wagar also got wins as the No. 2 and No. 6 singles, respectively. Levin defeated Brown 6-0, 6-4 and Wagar earned a 6-1, 6-3 decision over Nolan Staples.

For the Bruins, Mann won the No. 3 flight over DeWitt 7-5, 6-2. McClain emerged victorious against Lyons 6-2, 6-3. Jackson defeated Kingzett 6-2, 6-4.

Not yet halfway through the season, the ‘Cats are still in the hunt for a conference championship.

“The good news is we play this team again,” Swanson said.

NEXT: Linfield take on Pacific Friday afternoon. Due to weather concerns, the match has been moved to Club Green Meadows in Vancouver, Wash., with a start time of 4:45 p.m.