Undefeated Pilots Upset No. 54 UC Irvine
PORTLAND, Ore. --- The Portland Pilots men’s tennis team extended its winning streak to six with an upset victory over the No. 54 UC Irvine Anteaters Thursday at the Louisiana-Pacific Tennis Center. Clinching the 4-3 victory for the Pilots was sophomore Justin Guay, who closed out his match with a love game.
"Today was one of the biggest wins our program has had since I have been here,” Portland head coach Aaron Gross beamed after the match. “UCI was ranked and they beat us badly last season, so we feel really good about our effort today. I am proud that we stepped up to believe that we could beat a team that on paper looked to be superior."
The Pilots improve to 6-0 on the season and now have a 2-0 record against ranked opponents, having beaten then-No.56 Idaho a few weeks back. In their first match of the season against a non-ranked opponent, the Anteaters record falls to 1-6.
Portland once again began the dual by earning the doubles point as senior Geoff Hernandez and freshman Stefan Micov defeated Mika DeCoster and Jacob Jung in the two position. Sophomores Michel Hu Kwo and Alex Ferrero won their doubles match as well, making Portland’s top two doubles teams a flawless 6-0 to open the season.
“Our play at #1 and #2 doubles continues to spark us. We were on fire again today, winning handily,” Gross added. “That little cushion that doubles is providing us has proved to be the difference in each of our last two matches.”
In the singles portion of the match, the Pilots once again fended off stiff competition. Guay’s clinching point closed out a 6-3, 6-4 match. Ferrero picked up a point with a close 7-6, 6-4 win over Jon Kazarian, after Hu Kwo had pulled out a 6-3, 6-7, 6-3 victory in the three position.
Gross was impressed with team’s performance, especially the underclassmen, “Our three sophomores are the heroes for the day. Singles-wise, Hukwo, Ferrero, and Guay all came up really big for us. Micov and Hernandez played tight matches against very good players to help keep the pressure on UCI.”
Hernandez nearly pulled off a comeback against Sam Gould. After dropping the first set 6-3, Hernandez captured the second, 7-6, before Gould pulled away with a 6-2 victory in the third. Playing in the first position for the first time, Micov played a hard match against Fabian Matthews, a three-time All-Big West First Team member. Matthews took the first set 6-3 and then edged Micov 7-6 to give UC Irvine the point.
“The size of our facility (3 courts) and our geographic proximity to very few other DI teams, makes it hard for us to get higher level California teams to come up here,” Gross added while emphasizing the importance of today’s victory. “We always felt that we would hold our own against most schools on our home court, but haven't known for sure. Today was a good sign that is the case and we will have more of those opportunities in March and April.”
Portland’s first road trip of the season begins on March 3, when the Pilots play a pair of matches in San Antonio, Texas. Portland will play UT-Pan American that Saturday before taking on UT-San Antonio on Sunday.
Singles competition
1. MATTHEWS, Fabian (UCI) def. MICOV, Stefan (POR) 6-3, 7-6
2. GOULD, Sam (UCI) def. HERNANDEZ, Geoff (POR) 6-3, 6-7, 6-2
3. HU KWO, Michel (POR) def. JUNG, Jacob (UCI) 6-3, 6-7, 6-3
4. FERRERO, Alex (POR) def. KAZARIAN, Jon (UCI) 7-6, 6-4
5. GUAY, Justin (POR) def. CHEUNG, Ryan (UCI) 6-3, 6-4
6. SHIBAHARA, Shuhei (UCI) def. COELHO, Daniel (POR) 6-1, 6-3
Doubles competition
1. FERRERO, Alex/HU KWO, Michel (POR) def. MATTHEWS, Fabian/CHEUNG, Ryan (UCI) 8-1
2. HERNANDEZ, Geoff/MICOV, Stefan (POR) def. DeCOSTER, Mika/JUNG, Jacob (UCI) 8-2
3. GOULD, Sam/KAZARIAN, Jon (UCI) def. COELHO, Daniel/GUAY, Justin (POR) 8-6
