Box Score SEATTLE, Wash.  – The San Diego State Aztecs defeated Portland 5-2 in a non-conference men's tennis dual match Saturday afternoon at the Nordstrom Tennis Center.

Freshmen Sema Pankin and Issa Yoshida each pulled out three-set wins to earn points for the Pilots (3-6).

Pankin outlasted Fabian Roensdorf 6-2, 3-6, 7-6 at No. 1 singles, while Yoshida held on for a 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 victory against Rafael Gonzalez Almazan at the No. 5 position.

The Aztecs (4-4) took the early lead by winning the doubles point with victories at the No. 1 and No. 3 positions. Pankin and Yoshida teamed up for a 6-3 win at No. 2 doubles.

Pilot freshman Eleftherios Neos took Jan Kirchhoff to three sets at No. 4 singles, but Kirchhoff prevailed. SDSU picked up straight sets wins at the three remaining singles positions.

"San Diego State is a good team, but a beatable team," Portland head coach Aaron Gross said. "I think if we had won one or two of the early-season close matches, we would have a lot more confidence when it gets to crunch time in matches like today. Issa stepped up today after a loss in his last match out and Sema bounced back amazingly from yesterday for a big win. We let the doubles slip away, as well as a couple of close singles matches. We will click, I am sure of that. The question becomes do we win and then gain confidence or gain confidence before we win?"

Portland will return home for two more non-conference dual matches next weekend. The Pilots host Montana on Saturday at 9 a.m. and then Eastern Washington on Saturday at 9 a.m. Both matches will have live video and point-by-point scoring links on PortlandPilots.com.

San Diego State 5, Portland 2
Seattle, Wash. (Nordstrom Tennis Center)
February 23, 2019

Singles
1. Sema Pankin (POR) def. Fabian Roensdorf (SDSU) 6-2, 3-6, 7-6
2. Sander Gjoels-Andersen (SDSU) def. Tom Hann (POR) 7-5, 7-5
3. Ignacio Martinez (SDSU) def. Nicklas Oberg (POR) 6-2, 7-5
4. Jan Kirchhoff (SDSU) def. Eleftherios Neos (POR) 6-3, 6-7, 6-1
5. Issa Yoshida (POR) def. Rafael Gonzalez Almazan (SDSU) 6-2, 3-6, 6-2
6. Arnaud Restifo (SDSU) def. Leo Hibi (POR) 6-1, 6-0

Doubles
1. Gjoels-Andersen/Gonzalez Almazan (SDSU) def. Hann/Neos (POR) 6-3
2. Pankin/Yoshida (POR) def. Kirchhoff/Martinez (SDSU) 6-3
3. Gavin Spencer/Roensdorf (SDSU) def. Hibi/Oberg (POR) 6-3

Match Notes
Portland 3-6
San Diego State 4-4