DAVIS, Calif. – Portland pulled out a 4-3 victory over host UC Davis on Saturday to advance to the title match of the Golden State Invitational. The meeting was a rematch of last year's championship, which UC Davis won by a 4-3 margin. Portland's win snapped a 21-match home winning streak for the Aggies which dated back to 2014.
The Pilots (8-1) move on to face Grand Canyon in the tournament's championship match on Sunday at 1 p.m.
"There are a handful of defining moments each season that create memories teammates will be talking about for years," Portland head coach Aaron Gross said. "Today was one of those experiences."
The intense match was close from start-to-finish and came down to Portland winning the final two singles matches in play to pull out the victory.
Portland opened the scoring with a solid doubles performance. Michail Pervolarakis and Mathieu Garcia defeated Bryce McKelvie and James Wade by a 6-4 margin at No. 1, but Davis responded with a 6-4 win at the No. 2 position. The Pilot duo of Jamie Fisher and Carlos Donat, playing together for the first time this spring, then clinched the point with a 6-4 win at No. 3 over Max Pham and Alec Adamson.
"That was some of the best doubles that we have played in a long time," Gross noted. "Jamie Fisher and Carlos Donat played very well together to clinch the point."
Eli Whittle evened the score for the Aggies (8-5) with a straight sets win at No. 6, but Pervolarakis cruised at No. 1 singles against Wade to make it 2-1 Pilots.
Davis regained the lead with wins from McKelvie and Everett Maltby at the No. 3 and No. 4 positions to climb within a point of winning the match. Mathieu Garcia and Felix Fan were still battling for the Pilots at the No. 2 and No. 5 positions after both dropped first set tiebreakers. Garcia pulled out a tight second set against Adamson and then tied the match with a 6-2 win in the third set which put the pressure on Fan and Max Pham of UC Davis.
Fan was down a set and trailing 4-1 in the second before coming back from a 40-15 deficit in the game to turn the tables. He would go on to claim the second set by a 7-5 margin and clinch the match with a 6-2 win in the third and deciding set.
"Mike was a beast at No. 1 singles," Gross said. "Mathieu let a couple of opportunities in the first set get away and turned out to be one out of three of our players who all lost first set tiebreakers. He ended up battling back and winning in the third as he often does. With the score tied at three, everyone was watching Felix's court. He was playing the same opponent that he lost the deciding match against when we played Davis last season. He fought back to win the second set and then just gutted through the third set on sheer toughness."
It was a quality win for a Portland team that has cruised through a majority of matches this season and is playing outdoors for just the second time this spring.
"Davis is a legit and very experienced team," said Gross. "They have won a ton of close matches this year including beating San Diego and several other schools in our conference. To come from behind and beat them on their courts on our second outdoor match of the season was really special."
The focus now shifts to a Grand Canyon team that posted 4-0 sweeps of both Nevada and Sacramento State to reach the finals.
"Grand Canyon is a young program, but has a very solid team that has beaten opponents handily so far at this tournament," Gross said. "At this point we are just focusing on recovery and hope to come out and play a tough match tomorrow, but right now we are just enjoying this win."
Portland 4, UC Davis 3
Davis, Calif. (Marya Welch Tennis Center)
March 11, 2017
Singles
1. #97 PERVOLARAKIS, Mike (POR) def. Wade, James (UCD) 6-2, 6-2
2. GARCIA, Mathieu (POR) def. Adamson, Alec (UCD) 6-7, 6-4, 6-2
3. McKelvie, Bryce (UCD) def. GARCIA, Pierre (POR) 7-6, 6-4
4. Maltby, Everett (UCD) def. DONAT, Carlos (POR) 6-4, 6-2
5. FAN, Felix (POR) def. Pham, Max (UCD) 6-7, 7-5, 6-2
6. Whittle, Eli (UCD) def. MADISON, Jared (POR) 6-1, 6-1
Doubles
1. PERVOLARAKIS, Mike/GARCIA, Mathieu (POR) def. McKelvie, Bryce/Wade, James (UCD) 6-4
2. Lam, Tommy/Goulak, David (UCD) def. GARCIA, Pierre/FAN, Felix (POR) 6-4
3. FISHER, Jamie/DONAT, Carlos (POR) def. Pham, Max/Adamson, Alec (UCD) 6-4
Match Notes:
Portland 8-1
UC Davis 8-5
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (6,1,4,3,2,5)
