WCC Men's Championship Bracket (pdf)

SAN DIEGO, Calif. --- The No. 3 seed Portland Pilots defeated No. 6 seed Gonzaga 4-1 in the opening round of the West Coast Conference Championships Friday at the Barnes Tennis Center in San Diego, Calif. The win pits the Pilots (13-7) against No. 2 San Diego (8-13) on Saturday, April 18 at 3:00 p.m. The semifinal match-up will be the first meeting this season between the two teams. 

"It feels really good to get through to the semis,” said head coach Aaron Gross. “It has been a while since we have been in contention. Our guys fought hard today. Being our first match outside in more than a month and feeling a little pressure of being the favorite I think we responded well.” 

Freshman Geoff Hernandez clinched the win for the Pilots winning his match 6-3, 6-2 at the No. 4 spot. Junior Filip Zivkovic claimed the first win 6-3, 6-2 at the No. 2 position while junior Evan Schleining won 6-1, 6-1 at the No. 6. Sophomore Bryan Thorp suffered a 6-1, 6-4 set back at the No. 5 spot. 

Portland won the doubles point with Hernandez and sophomore Nick Wales winning 8-5 at No. 3 and freshman Nikoloz Kurdadze and senior Joel Kincaid winning 8-4 at No. 2. 

The nationally ranked No. 74 Toreros earned their spot in the semis after handing No. 7 seed Loyola Marymount a 4-1 defeat on Friday. 

“Tomorrow will be a fun opportunity to play San Diego,” said Gross. “The pressure is definitely on them. We have never been to the final and I think our guys are going to come out playing loose and with nothing to lose." 

All the action this weekend can be followed by visiting the WCC Men’s and Women’s Tennis Championship Tournament Central page at www.wccsports.com. The 2009 championship is a unique event as it is the first-ever dual event in championship history. 

NO. 3 PORTLAND 4, NO. 6 GONZAGA 1
Barnes Tennis Centre 
San Diego, Calif. 
April 17, 2009 

Singles
1. Kincaid, POR vs. Feddersen, GON - DNF
2. Zivkovic, POR def. Dojcak, GON - 6-3, 6-2
3. Kurdadze, POR vs. Feeney, GON - DNF
4. Hernandez, POR def. Davis, GON - 6-3, 6-2
5. Sullivan, GON def. Thorp, POR - 6-1, 6-4
6. Schleining, POR def. Falkowski, GON - 6-1, 6-1
(order of finish: 2, 6, 5, 4) 

Doubles
1. Zivkovic/Schleining, POR vs. Feddersen/Feeney, GON - DNF
2. Kurdadze/Kincaid, POR def. Sullivan/Dojcak, GON - 8-4
3. Hernandez/Wales, POR def. Falkowski/Davis, GON - 8-5 
(order of finish: 3, 2)