Pilots Overcome Injuries in 6-1 Win over Eagles
CHENEY, Wash. --- The Portland Pilots men’s tennis team picked up all six points they participated in, picking up a 6-1 victory over the Eastern Washington Eagles Friday at the Jim Thorpe Fieldhouse. Eastern Washington’s lone point came after injuries left the Pilots with just five healthy players for the singles competition.
Portland improves to 5-2 with the win while Eastern Washington falls to 2-5.
"We played well under the circumstances today. EWU's fieldhouse is tricky to play in. The surface is fast and the ball bounces low,” Portland head coach Aaron Gross said following the match. “It was a quick turnaround from the Ole Miss match on Wednesday. We preach to our players that they need to be adaptable. Today was the definition of needing to be adaptable based on the change of conditions and also the health of our team.”
The Pilots started the day off with the doubles point as partners Alex Ferrero and Ratan Gill posted an 8-3 victory from the first position.
Fresh off a momentum-boosting win over the No. 25 doubles duo the nation, Michel Hu Kwo and Jackson Martin upped their doubles record to 4-1 with an 8-4 win in the second spot. Portland also won the third match behind Kent Andreasen and Justin Guay.
Portland faced more pressure from the Eagles in the singles matches. While the top four players won their matches in straight sets, Gill needed seven games in the first and the tiebreaker in the second to win his sixth match of the year (7-6, 7-6 (7-4)).
Hu Kwo also needed the tiebreaker in the first set, before handling Tomas Aranguiz in the second set for a 7-6 (7-2), 6-3 victory.
Martin (6-0, 6-3) and Justin Guay (6-1, 6-4) easily picked up singles wins. Martin, the lone senior on the roster, has now won six straight matches.
Rounding out the Pilots victory was freshman Kent Andreasen, rebounded from a close first set to win his first collegiate match 4-6, 6-3, 1-0 (10-6).
“Overall, we did a very good job on the court,” Gross added. “Our issue is health right now. Paxton Deuel wasn't able to play today and Alex Ferrero is struggling with the after effects of his long match against Ole Miss the other day.”
After emphasizing his focus on the long term health of his players, Gross continued. “Obviously, it is not fun to have to default a match like we did today because of our injury situation. It definitely puts pressure on the remaining guys to step up, but it also puts pressure on our opponents knowing that they have a big advantage right from the start. I have been on the other side of that, where we played a team with only five players and it is a nerve racking feeling knowing that you have this great opportunity, but still needing to perform at a high level to take advantage."
The Pilots play again Saturday morning, taking on the Gonzaga Bulldogs at 10 a.m. in the first West Coast Conference match of the season.
Concluded Gross, “We will do our best with who is available tomorrow against a very good Gonzaga team. No matter who is in the line-up, I guarantee we will come to play. We know that there are a lot of good teams out there, including Gonzaga that are capable of beating us. But we also enter these matches knowing that we are not going to beat ourselves and that it is going to take a better team than us to win on that day."
