Hernandez, Micov Help Pilots Upend No. 56 Vandals
PORTLAND, Ore. --- Picking up their second win of the weekend, the Portland Pilots upset the No. 56 Idaho Vandals in a tight match Sunday at the Louisiana-Pacific Tennis Center. Portland improves to 3-0 on the young season following the electric 5-2 victory led by senior Geoff Hernandez and freshman Stefan Micov.
"This was a really big win for our program,” Portland head coach Aaron Gross exclaimed afterwards. “Idaho is a very good, ranked team. We had to play very well to win and all three of our doubles teams got the job done to set the tone.”
Hernandez and Micov accounted for three of the Pilots (3-0) points on the afternoon. Micov, in the number two slot, disposed of Abid Akbar 6-2 and 7-6 as Hernandez ceded just one game in his match against Alan Shin – 6-0, 6-1.
The duo also teamed up in a doubles match against Marius Cirstea and Jose Bendeck, putting together an 8-5 victory.
“Geoff Hernandez played dominating tennis to get us out to an early 2-0 lead,” Gross added. “Stefan Micov and Alex Ferrero keep getting better all of the time and Michael HuKwo played fantastic in a 7-6 in the 3rd set loss to a very good player.”
HuKwo dropped a close match in the one spot to Marius Cirstea. After losing the first set 6-4, HuKwo forced a third set with a 7-6 victory.
Cirstea then edged HuKwo 7-6 in the third set to give the Vandals the point. Portland has opened the season with a combined 15-3 record in singles play through the first three matches.
Portland also got points in the singles matches from sophomores Alex Ferrero (6-4, 6-4) and Justin Guay (3-6, 6-3, 10-4).
“To start the season 3-0 feels really good. The exciting thing is that we know there is still plenty of room for improvement,” Gross noted. “It is also exciting knowing that we have a lot more good teams coming into our building over the next couple of months to really test us.”
Looking ahead, the Pilots return to action next Sunday against the UC Davis Aggies. The two teams will start at 11 a.m. in the Louisiana-Pacific Tennis Center for the third match of a six-match homestand for the Pilots.
Singles Results
1. Marius Cirstea (Idaho) def. Michel HuKwo (POR); 6-4,6-7,7-6
2. Stefan Micov (POR) def. Abid Akbar (Idaho); 6-2,7-6
3. Geoff Hernandez (POR) def. Alan Shin (Idaho); 6-0,6-1
4. Alex Ferrero (POR) def. Cristobal Ramos Salazar (Idaho); 6-4,6-4
5. Justin Guay (POR) def. Jose Bendeck (Idaho); 3-6,6-3,10-4
6. Cesar Torres (Idaho) def. Jackson Martin (POR); 6-4,6-2
Doubles Results
1. Alex Ferrero/Michel HuKwo (POR) def. Abid Akbar/Cristobal Ramos Salazar (Idaho); 8-5
2. Geoff Hernandez/Stefan Micov (POR) def. Marius Cirstea/Jose Bendeck (Idaho); 8-5
3. Daniel Coelho/Justin Guay (POR) def. Andrew Dobbs/Jake Knox (Idaho); 9-7
