Box Score PORTLAND, Ore. – The Portland men's tennis team recorded a 5-1 win against the Montana Grizzlies in a non-conference dual match Saturday at the Louisiana Pacific Tennis Center. The Pilots improved to 4-6 with the win, while the Grizzlies fell to 3-7 overall.

The teams played singles first due to Montana's travel schedule and doubles were not played.

The Pilots jumped out early by winning the first set in each of the top three singles positions. Freshman Sema Pankin would go on to defeat Alex Canellopoulos at No. 1 singles 6-2, 6-2. Freshman Nicklas Oberg knocked off Oisin Shaffrey 6-3, 6-2 at the No. 3 spot.

Sophomore Tom Hann then was pushed to a third set at No. 2 against Ludvig Hallgren. Hann hung on by winning the final four points in the tiebreaker to pull out the win.

Freshman Eleftherios Neos then provided the clinching point with a 6-2, 6-0 win against Pontus Hallgren at the No. 5 spot.

Montana took a point at No. 4 singles by Ed Pudney, and then Pilot freshman Leo Hibi concluded the scoring with a straight sets win against Milo Benn at No. 6.

"We came out very strong in singles," Portland head coach Aaron Gross said. "Sema and Nick rolled fairly easily and Tom was seeming to have a pretty quick day, but ended up having to fight tooth and nail to get his victory. Lefty and Leo played with a lot of energy today. We have had some really good practices lately and I think guys were excited to show where they have improved."

Portland returns to the court on Sunday morning to host Eastern Washington for a 9 a.m. start at the Louisiana Pacific Tennis Center. That match will have live video coverage and point-by-point scoring available at PortlandPilots.com.

Portland 5, Montana 1
Portland, Ore. (Louisiana Pacific Tennis Center)
March 2, 2019

Singles
1. Sema Pankin (POR) def. CANELLOPOULOS, Alex (UM) 6-2, 6-2
2. Tom Hann (POR) def. HALLGREN, Ludvig (UM) 6-0, 4-6, 7-6 (8-6)
3. Nicklas Oberg (POR) def. SHAFFREY, Oisin (UM) 6-3, 6-2
4. PUDNEY, Ed (UM) def. Issa Yoshida (POR) 7-5, 6-4
5. Eleftherios Neos (POR) def. HALLGREN, Pontus (UM) 6-2, 6-0
6. Leo Hibi (POR) def. BENN, Milo (UM) 6-4, 6-3

Doubles
1. DNP
2. DNP
3. DNP

Match Notes:
Montana 3-7
Portland 4-6
Order of finish: Doubles (); Singles (1,3,2,5,4,6)