SEATTLE, Wash. – The Portland men's tennis team forced No. 43 Washington to the final point Sunday afternoon at the Nordstrom Tennis Center, but the host Huskies pulled out a 4-3 win to improve to 7-1 on the season. The Pilots fall to 1-3, with a pair of close losses to ranked opponents this weekend.
Portland set the tone with a dominating 6-1 victory at No. 3 doubles as Kent Andreasen and Carlos Donat pulled out the win. Washington responded with 6-4 victories at the top two doubles spots to secure the 1-0 lead.
The Pilots evened the score as sophomore Jared Madison improved to 2-0 with a straight sets win at No. 5 singles. Washington then went ahead 2-1 as Enzo Sommer improved to 7-0 in dual match play with a 7-5, 6-3 win over Pilot freshman Felix Fan at No. 4. Portland quickly tied it back up as Donat defeated Lam on court six 6-4, 2-6, 6-0.
The final three matches all featured ranked singles players from Washington against three Pilot sophomores. No. 121 Jake Douglas defeated Mathieu Garcia 7-5, 6-4 in a back and forth match to at No. 2 to give the Huskies back the lead 3-2.
The remaining two matches on courts one and three went to third sets, with Michail Pervolarakis edging No. 84 Mitch Stewart 3-6, 7-6, 6-4 to give Stewart his first loss of the season. With the Huskies and Pilots tied at 3-3, all attention turned to Pierre Garcia and No. 122 Gal Hakak on court three. Tied in the third set at 4-4, Hakak held on for a 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 victory to clinch the match for Washington.
"I couldn't be more proud of the team today," Portland head coach Aaron Gross said. "All the years of coming up here to Seattle, we have never had this close of a match. It came down to the last two matches in the third set and Mike won over a very good number one player and Pierre lost 6-4 in the third to a very experienced senior. Two very difficult losses in the last couple of days, but I couldn't have asked for more out of this weekend from our guys. Carlos and Jared really stepped up today and Carlos and Kent played amazing doubles on both days.
"Washington is one of the best teams in the country. They beat No. 12 Texas last week. Tennis is strange and things can change day to day, but I'm feeling really good about our young team right now. It was especially gratifying to see Mike step up today in a big way and take care of a ranked opponent in a crucial point."
Portland returns to the court on Friday, Feb. 5 when the Seattle Redhawks visit the Louisiana-Pacific Tennis Center for 2 p.m. start. Live stats and live video will be available courtesy of PortlandPilots.com.
No. 43 Washington 4, Portland 3
Seattle, Wash. (Nordstrom Tennis Center)
January 31, 2016
Singles1. Michail Pervolarakis (POR) def. No. 84 Stewart (UW) 3-6, 7-6, 6-4
2. No. 121 Douglas (UW) def. Mathieu Garcia (POR) 7-5, 6-4
3. No. 122 Hakak (UW) def. Pierre Garcia (POR) 5-7, 6-4, 6-4
4. Sommer (UW) def. Felix Fan (POR) 7-5, 6-3
5. Jared Madison (POR) def. Hawken (UW) 6-4, 6-1
6. Carlos Donat (POR) def. Lam (UW) 6-4, 2-6, 6-0
Doubles1. Douglas/Watanabe (UW) def. Pervolarakis/Fan (POR) 6-4
2. Foley/Sommer (UW) def. Garcia/Wallace (POR) 6-4
3. Andreasen/Donat (POR) def. Lam/Stewart (UW) 6-1
Order of Finish: Doubles (3, 1, 2) Singles (5, 4, 6, 2, 1, 3)
