STOCKTON, Calif. – Freshman Michael Pigou had a perfect weekend in singles play but the Portland Pilots men’s tennis team fell to non-conference foes Sacramento State and University of the Pacific by identical 6-1 margins Friday and Saturday on the road in California.
“Freshman Michael Pigou is progressing”, said head coach Aaron Gross. “He gave us our lone wins in each match. He is gaining confidence and his contributions will be a nice addition down the home stretch.”
With the results, Portland falls to 8-8 overall (1-0 West Coast Conference) while Sacramento State improves to 15-9 (7-1 Big Sky) and the University of the Pacific now sits at 6-10 (0-2 Big West) on the season.
“We don't have any margin for error against these very good teams,” said Gross. “We all need to be healthy and playing well. Here, we have run into a rough patch struggling with the outdoor transition and we have been bitten by the injury bug.”
Sophomore Geoff Hernandez, who is a regular at the singles No. 3 spot, was unavailable to play on Friday and senior Evan Schleining sat out on Saturday. Schleining has a 9-6 record for the Pilots in singles and a 12-2 record in doubles with teammate senior Filip Zivkovic.
Portland’s matches versus UC Davis and Northern Arizona University scheduled for April 11th and 13th have been cancelled.
Up next, Portland hosts Idaho State on April 18th at the Portland Tennis Center (not the usual home venue of Louisiana-Pacific Tennis Center). The West Coast Conference tournament runs April 23-25 in San Diego, Calif.
“With less then two weeks until the WCC tourney we are focusing on getting healthy,” said Gross. “And we will be working on a couple of key areas that we need to improve on that we have learned in these recent losses."
Sacramento State 6, Pilots 1
Sacramento, Calif. (Rio Del Oro R.C.)
Friday, April 9, 2010
Singles
1. #74 HARBATSIUK, Kiryl (SAC) def. Filip Zivkovic (UP) 7-5, 6-2
2. STRYHAS, Anton (SAC) def. Bryan Thorp (UP) 3-6, 6-2, 10-3
3. SMITH, Jason (SAC) def. Evan Schleining (UP) 6-3, 6-2
4. CHING, Holden (SAC) def. Daniel Coelho (UP) 6-3, 6-3
5. STARCEVIC, Marko (SAC) def. Jackson Martin (UP) 6-4, 6-0
6. Mike Pigou (UP) def. LANTIN, Tim (SAC) 1-6, 6-3, retired
Order of finish: 4,3,5,6,2,1
Doubles
1. HARBATSIUK/STARCEVIC (SAC) def. #46 Filip Zivkovic/Evan Schleining (UP) 8-4
2. STRYHAS/CHING (SAC) def. Daniel Coelho/Mike Pigou (UP) 8-5
3. ROBERTS/SMITH (SAC) def. Nick Wales/Bryan Thorp (UP) 8-4
Order of finish: 1,3,2
Pacific 6, Pilots 1
Stockton, Calif.
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Singles
1. Artem Gramma (PAC) def. Filip Zivkovic (UP) 3-6, 6-2, 6-3
2. Ivan Castro (PAC) def. Bryan Thorp (UP) 6-1, 6-2
3. Renan Delsin (PAC) def. Geoff Hernandez (UP) 6-4, 7-5
4. Vegerd Veskimagi (PAC) def. Danel Coelho (UP) 6-3, 6-4
5. Mike Pigou (UP) def. Chase Oliphant (PAC) 6-4, 6-4
6. Karl-Erik Paaro (PAC) def. Jackson Martin (UP) 6-4, 6-3*
Order of Finish: 2, 4, 6*, 5, 3, 1 (* Clinched win)
Doubles
1. Gramma/Castro (PAC) def. Zivkovic/Thorp (UP) 8-2
2. Veskimagi/Paaro (PAC) def. Coelho/Pigou (UP) 8-4
3. Delsin/Ristow (PAC) def. Hernandez/Wales (UP) 8-6
Order of Finish: 1, 2, 3
