Season Recap Video

PORTLAND, Ore. – The University of Portland men's tennis team had a year full of accolades and honors highlighted by the program claiming its first West Coast Conference title, Michail Pervolarakis earning the school's first WCC Player of the Year award, and head coach Aaron Gross earning both league and region Coach of the Year honors.

The Pilots (18-3, 8-1 WCC) just missed an at-large bid to the NCAA Championships, finishing No. 48 in the final regular season Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings, one spot ahead of Washington who earned a questionable bid over Portland.

Gross, in his 20th season on The Bluff, led the Pilots to their first ever win against San Diego, snapped a 21-match home winning streak at UC Davis, extended Portland's home win streak to 20 matches, and guided the Pilots to a thrilling 4-3 win over Pepperdine late in the season to secure the league title.

Pervolarakis finished with a 17-3 dual singles record at the top of Portland's lineup in earning WCC Player of the Year honors and his second straight All-WCC First Team recognition. He can become the Pilots first three-time honoree next year.

The year got off to a strong start with some great performances in the fall as Pervolarakis and Mathieu Garcia made deep runs at both the Battle of the Bay Classic and ITA Northwest Regionals. Pervolarakis reached the quarterfinals of the former and semifinals of the latter, while Garcia made the Round of 16 and quarterfinals, respectively. Only USC (Battle of the Bay) and California (ITA Regionals) matched the Pilots with multiple participants advancing as far.

Portland claimed multiple individual and doubles titles in the fall season and carried that momentum into a successful spring dual campaign as the lineup performed well from top-to-bottom.

Pervolarakis and Mathieu Garcia solidified the top of the lineup with 17-3 and 16-3 dual singles records, respectively. Juniors Pierre Garcia and Alex Wallace were consistent performers, primarily at the No. 3 and No. 4 positions, while sophomores Carlos Donat and Felix Fan were dominant at the bottom of the lineup. Donat finished 15-2 in all dual matches and a perfect 8-0 against WCC competition. Fan was 14-2 and 5-0 against league opponents.

Gross and the Pilots will return a majority of the team as just one senior graduates and all key members of the lineup are back next season. The Pilots have already announced the signing of Drew Davison and will potentially add one more player to the roster this offseason.

2016-17 PORTLAND MEN'S TENNIS HIGHLIGHTS
TEAM
- 18-3 (.857) overall record is the best winning percentage in modern UP history
- WCC Regular Season Champions for the first time in program history and first team other than Pepperdine or San Diego to win a title.
- Defeated San Diego for the first time in program history.
- Defeated Pepperdine for the second time in three seasons, the only two wins against the Waves in program history.
- Finished regular season ranked No. 48 nationally and ranked as high as No. 41 during the year, the highest ranking in program history.
- Finished with a perfect 10-0 home record at the Louisiana Pacific Tennis Center and extended home winning streak to 20 matches.
- Recorded an 11-match win streak in the middle of the season.
- Won the 2017 Golden State Invitational while snapping host UC Davis' 21-match win streak.
- One of only two programs (Cal) to have multiple players reach the quarterfinals of the USTA/ITA Northwest Regionals as Michail Pervolarakis was a semifinalist and Mathieu Garcia a quarterfinalist.
- One of two schools (USC) with multiple Round of 16 participants at the Battle of the Bay Classic with Pervolarakis reaching the quarterfinals and Mathieu Garcia the Round of 16.
 
INDIVIDUAL
Head Coach Aaron Gross
- Wilson/ITA Northwest Region Coach of the Year.
- WCC Coach of the Year.

Michail Pervolarakis, Junior
- WCC Player of the Year, first Pilot to ever win the honor.
- All-WCC First Team singles for the second straight season, joining Filip Zivkovic as the only players in school history to earn multiple first team honors.
- All-WCC First Team doubles for the second straight season, joining Filip Zivkovic/Evan Schleining as the only duos in school history to earn multiple first team honors.
- Two-time WCC Singles Player of the Week and once named WCC Doubles Team of the Week.
- Nationally ranked in singles for most of the season with a high of No. 56 on Feb. 8.
- Reached the quarterfinals of the Battle of the Bay Classic including a win over No. 48-ranked Logan Smith of USC.
- Partnered with Mathieu Garcia to claim the top flight doubles title at the Larry Easley Memorial Classic.
- 25-7 overall, 17-3 dual singles.

Mathieu Garcia, Junior
- All-WCC Second Team in singles.
- All-WCC First Team doubles for the second straight season, joining Filip Zivkovic/Evan Schleining as the only duos in school history to earn multiple first team honors.
- Earned WCC Doubles Team of the Week recognition.
- 16-3 dual singles record at No. 2, 29-8 overall singles record and 10-7 in dual doubles.
- Advanced to the ITA Northwest Regional quarterfinals including a win over No. 59-ranked and David Wilczynski of Stanford.
- Defeated opponents from USC, UNLV and Oregon en route to a finals appearance at the Larry Easley Memorial Classic.
- Made the top flight singles final at the Aggie Invitational.
- Reached the Round of 16 at the prestigious Battle of the Bay Classic.
- Partnered with Michail Pervolarakis to claim the top flight doubles title at the Larry Easley Memorial Classic.
- 29-8 overall, 16-3 dual singles.

Carlos Donat, Sopohomore
- All-WCC honorable mention in singles.
- WCC All-Academic Team.
- Posting WCC-clinching pointing in the Pilots 4-3 win over Pepperdine after coming back from down a set.
- Co-Champion of the Flight 2 Singles at the Larry Easley Memorial Classic with teammate Pierre Garcia.
- Teamed with Pierre Garcia to reach the doubles semifinals of the Larry Easley Memorial Classic.
- 26-6 overall, 15-2 dual singles and a perfect 8-0 in WCC matches.

Pierre Garcia, Junior
- Co-Champion of the Flight 2 Singles at the Larry Easley Memorial Classic with teammate Carlos Donat.
- Teamed with Carlos Donat to reach the doubles semifinals of the Larry Easley Memorial Classic.
- 16-15 overall, 10-10 dual singles.

Alex Wallace, RS-Junior
- WCC All-Academic Team.
- 10-8 overall, 8-6 dual singles.

Felix Fan, Sophomore
- WCC All-Academic Team.
- Went a perfect 5-0 in WCC singles matches.
- 21-9 overall, 14-2 dual singles.

Goutham Sundaram, Junior
- Claimed the Yellow Singles title at the Duck Invitational after winning four straight matches.
- Partnered with Jamie Fisher to reach the top flight doubles final of the Duck Invitational.
- 9-5 overall, 1-1 dual singles.

Jamie Fisher, Junior
- Partnered with Jamie Fisher to reach the top flight doubles final of the Duck Invitational.
- 3-2 overall singles.

Jared Madison, Junior
- 10-7 overall, 5-2 dual singles.

Andrew Newell, Freshman
- 4-6 overall, 0-1 dual singles.
Ethan Ogard, Senior
- 3-3 overall singles.