UP's three seniors earn comeback wins in singles action

SAN DIEGO, Calif. --- The Portland Pilot men’s tennis team knocked off Northwest rival Gonzaga by a 6-1 margin in the consolation semifinal of the West Coast Conference Championships Saturday afternoon. The Pilots will advance and face the winner of Loyola Marymount-San Francisco in the fifth-place match on Sunday at 9 a.m.

After cruising to a doubles victory and early lead, Portland won five of the six singles matches, including three come-from-behind, three-set wins from the team’s trio of seniors. Alex Strom defeated Roman Doicak 6-7, 6-2, 10-5 at No. 2; Colby Jager knocked off Marco Pineda 5-7, 6-2, 6-3 at No. 4; and Scott Kennel beat Charles Adams 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 at the No. 6 spot.

"I am pleased that we bounced back from our first round loss with a lot of character,” Portland head coach Aaron Gross said. “Gonzaga was playing with nothing to lose and they played very well. Our three seniors – Colby Jager, Alex Strom and Scott Kennel - all lost the first sets of their matches and all came back to win. It was a testament to how far all of them have come. There was no panic in them. They methodically worked their way back through the matches. These three have been huge for our program through the years and taught our youngsters another lesson today in how hang in even when things aren't going well."

No. 4 Portland 4, No. 8 Gonzaga 1
Doubles:
1. Jager/Zivkovic (POR) def. Radetzky/Womack (GON) 8-2
2. Yemm/Strom (POR) vs. Cooper/Dojcak (GON) â013 Did Not Finish
3. Kincaid/Schleining (POR) def. Pineda/Adams (GON) 8-2
Order of Finish: 3, 1

Singles:
1. Bryce Cooper (GON) def. Filip Zivkovic (POR) 6-4, 6-3
2. Alex Strom (POR) def. Roman Dojcak (GON) 6-7 (11-9), 6-2, 10-5
3. Joel Kincaid (POR) def. Brett Womack (GON) 6-4, 6-2
4. Colby Jager (POR) def. Marco Pineda (GON) 5-7, 6-2, 6-3
5. Charlie Yemm (POR) def. Zack Radetzky (GON) 6-2, 6-3
6. Scott Kennel (POR) def. Charles Adams (GON) 3-6, 6-3, 6-2
Order of Finish: 1, 5, 3, 6, 4, 2