No. 45 Pilots Embark on First Road Trip of the Season
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PORTLAND, Ore. --- The No. 45 Portland Pilots men’s tennis team hits the road for the first time in the 2012 season this week for a pair of matches in Texas. Portland, which is ranked for the first time this season, will take on UT-Pan American and UT-San Antonio this weekend.
The Pilots (6-0) will take on the UT-Pan American Broncos (3-1) on Saturday at 9 a.m. (PST) before taking on the No. 67 UT-San Antonio (3-6) Roadrunners Sunday at 10 a.m. (PST). Both matches will be played at the UTSA Tennis Center.
"We are really excited for our first road trip of the season,” Portland head coach Aaron Gross noted. “Both of these matches will be good tests for us in how adaptable we are able to be. Our first six matches have been at home, where we are quite comfortable. Almost every college team faces the same challenge when going on the road.”
In addition to playing on the road for the first time this year, the youthful Pilots will be playing their first outdoor matches of the season, another adjustment the team is preparing for. “We are all used to practicing in certain conditions and then in a short period of time having to adapt to very different conditions,” Gross noted. “All of our players want to play some pro tennis after college. A huge part of being a pro is being to make adjustments weekly based on all the different variables that come up.
With a 6-0 mark, the Pilots are off to their best start since 2005 when the team opened the season 11-1. That Pilots team was ranked as high as No. 71, spending a total of five weeks with a ranking. The last time the Pilots were ranked was in 2007 when Portland registered as the No. 75-ranked team for the last week of February.
The Pilots have won every doubles point thus far this season with two tandems owning a perfect 6-0 mark. Starting each match up 1-0 has helped the Pilots to their perfect start, although Gross points out his team is still making adjustments to improve. "All of our guys have ongoing projects technically and strategically that we feel really good about right now. That adaptability piece is a part that we haven't had a chance to test yet. This weekend will provide that test.”
After dropping the first match of the season, UTPA has won the last three by comfortable margins. No. 67 UTSA entered the rankings a week before the Pilots and, despite a 3-6 record, have played well against ranked opponents. Three of UTSA’s losses have been by scores of 4-3.
“Both of the teams we will be facing are solid teams,” Gross added. “UTSA beat us on our home court last year. We are looking forward to the challenge."
No. 45 PORTLAND PILOTS (6-0)
vs UT-Pan American Broncos (3-1)
Date: Saturday, March 3
Time: 9:00 a.m. (PST)
Location: San Antonio, Texas
Facility: UTSA Tennis Center
at No. 67 UT-San Antonio Roadrunners (3-6)
Date: Sunday, March 4
Time: 10:00 a.m. (PST)
Location: San Antonio, Texas
Facility: UTSA Tennis Center
Quick Hits...
• Portland, which went from being unranked to No. 45 in the latest ITA Rankings, hits the road for the first time this season to play UT-Pan American and No. 67 UT-San Antonio.
• This marks the first time of four scheduled times this season that the Pilots will play matches on back-to-back days.
• With a 4-3 victory over No. 54 UC Irvine last Thursday, the Pilots extended their winning streak to six, with two of those wins coming against ranked foes.
• The sophomore class carried the team against San Antonio as Michel Hu Kwo, Alex Ferrero, and Justin Guay picked up victories in their singles matches.
• Guay sealed the team victory with a 6-3, 6-4 match, capped off with him serving a love game.
• Portland won the doubles point once again, as Hu Kwo/Ferrero and Geoff Hernandez/Stefan Micov upped their records to 6-0.
