SEATTLE, Wash. – Despite missing its top singles player due to injury, the Portland men's tennis team defeated No. 73 Fresno State by a 5-2 margin on Saturday at the Nordstrom Tennis Center. It's the fourth straight victory for the Pilots who improve to 5-3 overall, while the Bulldogs fall to 3-4 on the season.
Portland was without sophomore Michail Pervolarakis, who was a late scratch from the lineup. The Pilots added another freshman to the singles lineup and bumped everyone up a spot. The recent momentum carried forward as the youthful Pilots didn't skip a beat.
Portland secured the doubles points with comfortable wins at the No. 2 and No. 3 positions. Senior Kent Andreasen and freshman Carlos Donat posted a 6-2 win at No. 2 and then sophomore Pierre Garcia and freshman Felix Fan won 6-2 at No. 3.
The Pilots then won the next four singles matches to put the match away. Pierre Garcia and Fan cruised to comfortable straight set wins at the No. 2 and No. 3 positions, and then sophomore Alex Wallace provided the clinching point with a 6-1, 7-6 win at No. 4.
Donat slid into the No. 6 singles position and came back for a 2-6, 6-2, 6-0 win over Patrik Pech for Portland's final point.
"That was a big win for us today," Portland head coach Aaron Gross said. "To beat a ranked team without our number one player was a good test for us. I was especially impressed with the freshmen who stepped up and won in both doubles and singles. Everyone had to move up a spot on short notice and rose to the occasion. I'm proud of our toughness and discipline today."
The last two singles matches were won in three sets as Jeremy Moser defeated sophomore Jared Madison 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 at No. 5 singles and Euan McIntosh outlasted sophomore Mathieu Garcia in a third set tiebreaker.
The match was emotional for the Pilots on multiple levels. The program tragically lost a member of its family this summer when Reid deLaubenfels, a Fresno State transfer, unexpectedly passed away in August. Reid had concluded his eligibility last spring and was enrolled to get his degree in the fall.
"The match had a little extra inspirational feel to it for me personally," Gross noted. "When I found out we were going to play Fresno State in Seattle last spring I had told Reid about it. He knew he was going to be living in Seattle at the time and was really excited to be able to come and cheer on the Pilots. His presence is missed every day by us, but especially on a day like today it's hard not to think about what an inspirational guy he was."
Portland will return to West Coast Conference play this coming Friday at BYU for a 4:30 p.m. (PT) start. The Pilots previously defeated Gonzaga at home and are 1-0 in league play.
Portland 5, #73 Fresno State 2
Seattle, Wash. (Nordstrom Tennis Center)
February 20, 2016
Singles1. McINTOSH, Euan (FSU) def. GARCIA, Mathieu (POR) 7-5, 3-6, 7-6
2. GARCIA, Pierre (POR) def. PAPIC, Nikolas (FSU) 6-1, 6-0
3. FAN, Felix (POR) def. HASSAN, Youssef (FSU) 6-0, 6-4
4. WALLACE, Alex (POR) def. BUGAILISKIS, Mantas (FSU) 6-1, 7-6
5. MOSER, Jeremy (FSU) def. MADISON, Jared (POR) 6-2, 4-6, 6-2
6. DONAT, Carlos (POR) def. PECH, Patrik (FSU) 2-6, 6-2, 6-0
Doubles1. GARCIA, M./WALLACE (POR) vs. McINTOSH/BUGAILISKIS (FSU) 5-4, unfinished
2. ANDREASEN, Kent/DONAT (POR) def. MOSER /PAPIC (FSU) 6-2
3. GARCIA, P./FAN (POR) def. KEPPELMANN, Jakob/HASSAN (FSU) 6-2
