PORTLAND, Ore. – Portland defeated the Pacific Tigers by a 4-0 margin in West Coast Conference men's tennis action on Sunday at the Louisiana Pacific Tennis Center. Portland closes out the regular season with an 11-8 overall record and 6-3 WCC mark, while the Tigers drop to 6-16 and 3-5 in league play.
Portland has solidified a top half of the conference finish and will now prepare for the WCC Championships, set for April 26-28 in Claremont, Calif.
"Today was very tricky," Portland head coach Aaron Gross said. "It was senior day and there were a lot of emotions, but bottom line is we had a job to do and you have to control your emotions in order to get it accomplished. I think we did a good job of that today."
The Pilots took care of business on Sunday in the final home match for a seven-player senior class that has had a historic run on The Bluff.
Portland raced to claim the doubles point as senior Michail Pervolarakis and freshman Tom Hann posted 6-2 win at the top of the lineup. Seniors Mathieu and Pierre Garcia then clinched with a 6-3 victory at the No. 2 spot.
Pervolarakis, ranked No. 58 nationally in singles, doubled Portland's overall lead with a 6-2, 6-3 win against Ross Watson at the top of the lineup. He improved to 6-0 in WCC dual matches and 12-1 in dual matches this spring.
Pierre Garcia cruised to a 6-1, 6-0 victory over Bernardo Oliveira at the No. 3 position and then Mathieu Garcia clinched it for Portland with a three set win against Tadiwa Chinamo at No. 2 singles. He posted a winning score of 6-2, 5-7, 6-1.
Portland junior Carlos Donat and senior Alex Wallace were each up a set at No. 4 and No. 5 positions, respectively, when the match was decided.
"We played solid doubles for the second match in a row," Gross added. "Mike continued his undefeated streak in conference and Pierre has played two of his best matches in recent history over the last couple of days, which is awesome to see. We have a little break before the tournament and will definitely take advantage of it to get healthy and fit. Right now it just feels good to close on a winning note and look forward to playing some more tennis soon."
The 2018 WCC Tennis Championships will be held at the Biszantz Family Tennis Center in Claremont, Calif. The top six regular season finishers make the tournament, with the top two seeds receiving byes to the semifinals.
Portland is likely to be the No. 4 seed and, if so, would play the No. 5 seed in the opening round at 10 a.m. on Thursday, April 26. Open round winners move on to Friday's semifinals with the title match scheduled for Saturday at 10 a.m.
Portland 4, Pacific 0
Portland, Ore. (Louisiana Pacific Tennis Center)
April 15, 2018
Singles
1. #58 Michail Pervolarakis (POR) def. Ross Watson (PAC) 6-2, 6-3
2. Mathieu Garcia (POR) def. Tadiwa Chinamo (PAC) 6-2, 5-7, 6-1
3. Pierre Garcia (POR) def. Bernardo Oliveira (PAC) 6-1, 6-0
4. Carlos Donat (POR) vs. Akram El Sallaly (PAC) 6-4, unfinished
5. Alex Wallace (POR) vs. Mikayel Khachatryan (PAC) 7-5, 1-0, unfinished
6. Tom Hann (POR) vs. Nathan Hampton (PAC) unfinished
Doubles
1. Pervolarakis/Hann (POR) def. John Horoz Garner/El Sallaly (PAC) 6-2
2. Garcia/Garcia (POR) def. Chinamo/Oliveira (PAC) 6-3
3. Donat/Jamie Fisher (POR) vs. Watson/Khachatryan (PAC) 4-4, unfinished
Match Notes:
Pacific 6-16, 3-5 WCC
Portland 11-8, 6-3 WCC
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2); Singles (1,3,2)
