SAN DIEGO, Calif. – The Portland Pilots men’s tennis team were defeated 4-0 by No. 58 San Diego in the first round of the West Coast Conference Championships on Friday.

 

Portland’s 73rd-ranked doubles team of seniors Filip Zivkovic and Evan Schleining were in unfamiliar territory in their loss against USD, falling for just the third time this season. The Pilots also dropped the No. 3 doubles position as the Waves claimed the all-important doubles point.

 

In singles, junior Bryan Thorp was charged with battling the 94th-ranked Nikola Bubnic at the No. 2 spot, falling in two sets. Schleining suffered a similar fate at the No. 3 position. Meanwhile freshman Mike Pigou forced USD’s Abdullah Hashem to three sets.

 

Junior Daniel Coelho was ahead 7-6, 5-2 before his match was pulled once San Diego had clinched the match win. Zivkovic was up 3-2 in the third set when his match was called.

 

"We actually played pretty well today,” said head coach Aaron Gross. “They are a good team and I thought we gave them all they could handle”.

 

Portland is next slated to face Saint Mary’s College (5-16, 1-6 WCC) on Saturday at 11:30 a.m. The Gaels suffered a loss to the second-seeded and 55th-ranked Santa Clara in their opening match on Friday. The winner will advance to a battle for fifth place in the consolation final, while the loser will play for seventh place.

 

“Our guys are really committed to ending the season strong,” said Gross. “We have had a couple of good weeks of practice. We are really looking forward to the next couple of days of matches."

 

 

#3 San Diego 4, #6 Pilots 0

San Diego, Calif. (Barnes Tennis Center)

April 23, 2010

 

Doubles

1. Jackson-Schive, USD def. #73 Zivkovic-Schleining, POR – 8-6

2. Bubnic-Hashem, USD vs. Coelho-Pigou, POR – suspended

3. Powers-Visy, USD def. Hernandez-Wales, POR – 8-3

(order of finish: 1, 3)

 

Singles

1. Dean Jackson, USD vs. Filip Zivkovic, POR - suspended

2. #94 Nikola Bubnic, USD def. Bryan Thorp, POR – 6-3, 6-4

3. Thibault Visy, USD def. Evan Schleining, POR – 6-3, 6-3

4. Nils Schive, USD vs. Geoff Hernandez, POR – suspended

5. Casey Powers, USD vs. Daniel Coelho, POR – suspended

6. Abdullah Hashem, USD def. Mike Pigou, POR – 4-6, 6-3, 6-1

(order of finish: 2, 3, 6)