NCAA Championships

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Portland senior Michail Pervolarakis dropped a hard-fought, three set match to fellow Cypriot and No. 4 ranked Petros Chrysochos of host Wake Forest in the first round of the NCAA Championships on Wednesday at the Wake Forest Tennis Complex. Chrysochos, a three-time All-American, advanced with a 5-7, 6-2, 6-4 victory in the final match to be completed on Wednesday.

The only two players from the island country of Cyprus in the draw, the pair trained together since they were eight years old, but met for the first time in a competitive match since coming over for college.

Chrysochos came off an emotional NCAA Championship team title with a win over Ohio State on Tuesday night, the first for the Demon Deacons in school history. He extended his winning streak to 25 consecutive matches with the win and is 27-1 in dual singles matches this season.

The players endured an hour rain delay late in the first set with Chrysochos leading 5-4, but Pervolarakis serving with a 40-30 advantage. Pervolarakis would go on to win the next three games to claim the first set.

Chrysochos found a solid groove to even the match with a 6-2 victory in the second set. The third set stayed on serve until Chrysochos used a strong return game to clinch the match at 6-4. The friends embraced at the net following the match. Chrysochos moves on to face Kentucky's William Bushamuka in the Round of 32 on Thursday.

"Mike battled, in my opinion, the best player in the country for two-and-a-half hours to a draw," Portland head coach Aaron Gross said. "He came up just a little bit short in the end. He could have served a little bit better, but other than that Mike was playing at a really high level. I think this is just the beginning of what is going to turn into an amazing post-collegiate career."

Pervolarakis concludes his career as the most decorated Portland men's tennis player in modern program history. He became the second Portland player to earn a spot in the NCAA Singles Championships. He is ranked No. 57 nationally in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) singles rankings and collected back-to-back West Coast Conference Player of the Year honors.

Pervolarakis is the first Pilot to win a WCC Player of the Year award and only non-Pepperdine competitor in the league's history to win the honor twice. He also was named All-WCC First Team three times, also a first in Pilot history.

He finished his senior year with a 25-7 overall singles record and was 81-29 during his four-year career on The Bluff.