Box Score PORTLAND, Ore. – The Portland men's tennis team opened the 2020 dual season with a 6-1 victory against crosstown rival Portland State on Friday at the Louisiana Pacific Tennis Center.

"It's nice to get a win to start the season," Portland head coach Aaron Gross said. "There were a few bright spots, including our solid doubles play. Kostya had a great debut at No. 1 in his first dual match for the Pilots. There were some controllable elements of the match today that I didn't think we did not handle well. We will definitely need to do better tomorrow and going forward. I'm confident we will."

The Pilots (1-0) swept the doubles point in convincing fashion as sophomores Issa Yoshida and Leo Hibi set the tone with a 6-1 win at the No. 3 position. Kostya Nesterenko, making his dual debut with the Pilots as a grad transfer from Nevada, teamed with junior Tom Hann at No. 1 doubles and won by 6-2 margin to clinch the opening point. Sophomores Sema Pankin and Eleftherios Neos completed the sweep with a 6-3 win at the No. 2 spot.

Nesterenko carried the momentum into singles play as he cruised to a 6-1, 6-3 win at the top of the lineup over Matteo Fortini.

Hann pulled out a hard-fought, three-set win against Tommy Edwards at the No. 2 position and then Yoshida clinched the match with a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Otto Holtari at No. 5 singles.

Neos and sophomore Nicklas Oberg also both won in straight sets, while Nikola Dimitrijevic collected a point for the Vikings (0-1) at No. 3 singles.

Portland will return to the court on Saturday to host Idaho at 10 a.m. Live video and live scoring will be available for all Pilot home matches at PortlandPilots.com.

Portland 6, Portland State 1
Portland, Ore. (Louisiana Pacific Tennis Center)
January 24, 2020

Singles
1. Kostya Nesterenko (POR) def. Matteo Fortini (PSU) 6-1, 6-3
2. Tom Hann (POR) def. Tommy Edwards (PSU) 6-2, 3-6, 6-4
3. Nikola Dimitrijevic (PSU) def. Sema Pankin (POR) 6-4, 6-4
4. Eleftherios Neos (POR) def. Sam Roberts (PSU) 6-3, 6-4
5. Issa Yoshida (POR) def. Otto Holtari (PSU) 6-2, 6-1
6. Nicklas Oberg (POR) def. Majeed Bukhari (PSU) 6-2, 7-6 (7)

Doubles
1. Kostya Nesterenko/Tom Hann (POR) def. Sam Roberts/Tommy Edwards (PSU) 6-2
2. Sema Pankin/Eleftherios Neos (POR) def. Matteo Fortini/Majeed Bukhari (PSU) 6-3
3. Issa Yoshida/Leo Hibi (POR) def. Nikola Dimitrijevic/Otto Holtari (PSU) 6-1

Match Notes:
Portland State 0-1
Portland 1-0
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (1,3,2,5,4,6)