The University of Portland’s men’s tennis team (18-6) suffered a 4-2 defeat at the hands of No. 4 seed Santa Clara (15-11) on Sunday afternoon. The No. 72-ranked Pilots end up with a fourth-place finish at the 2005 WCC Tournament.

After the two teams split the doubles at the No. 2 and No. 3 positions, the match at No. 1 decided the point. Portland’s Matthew Loucks and James Redpath went all the way into a tiebreaker, but eventually lost 9-8 (10-6), giving the doubles point to the Broncos.

Santa Clara pulled ahead 2-0 after the Broncos’ A.J. Kerin won 6-0, 6-3 over Scott Kennel in the No. 6 position, but Portland battled back. Matthew Loucks scored a straight-set victory in the No. 2 spot, and Roman Borvanov fought back from a one-set deficit to claim a 1-6, 6-3, 6-2 win in the No. 1 position to draw the dual even at two.

But the Broncos were simply too much for Portland to handle on the day. A pair of wins at the No. 5 and No. 4 positions clinched the match and a third-place finish in the tournament for Santa Clara.

In the wins column, Portland enjoyed its finest season since the 1997 campaign. The Pilots’ 18 wins on the season is the most since Aaron Gross became the head coach during the 1997-98 season. Roman Borvanov’s 26 singles wins during the 2004-05 season places him in a tie for eighth place in Portland’s history for most wins in a season. Borvanov also won 26 doubles matches, placing him in a tie for seventh in Pilot lore.