Martin Continues Winning Ways as Pilots Knock off Portland State
PORTLAND, Ore. --- Senior Jackson Martin extend his singles win streak to nine and the Portland Pilots took all the singles points en route to a 6-1 win over the Portland State Vikings Friday afternoon at the Louisiana-Pacific Tennis Center.
Portland improves to 7-3 with the victory, while the Vikings fall to 4-8.
The match started slow for the Pilots as Antoine Bechmann/Ian Risenhoover upset Martin and Michel Hu Kwo, the No. 57 ranked doubles team in the nation.
"Full credit to PSU for playing good doubles today," Portland head coach Aaron Gross said after the match. "They played with a lot of energy and executed well when it got close. I was happy with how our guys responded in the singles.
Portland State was able to take the early 1-0 advantage by taking the doubles point before the Pilots stormed back.
Junior Ratan Gill snapped a two-match losing streak with a 6-2, 6-2 win from the top spot as Hu Kwo cruised to a 6-1, 6-0 win from the second spot.
"With PSU getting the doubles point and the atmosphere becoming circus-like at times, our guys kept their composure and handled the singles fairly handily," Gross added. :The one tricky spot for us was at #4, where Justin Guay played arguably PSU's best player and got through with a hard fought 7-5,7-6 win."
Martin, meanwhile, closed out his straight set victory with a 6-0 set. It’s the ninth straight victory of the season for the senior out of Salem, Ore., which ties his career-high for wins. Martin also won nine matches in his freshman campaign.
Portland plays again on Saturday, travelling down to Eugene for a 1 p.m. match against the No. 45 Oregon Ducks.
