Box Score DALLAS, Texas – Portland battled a tough SMU squad on its home court, but came short in a 4-3 loss to the Mustangs on Saturday at the SMU Tennis Complex. Tomas Vaise broke the tie with a three-set victory at No. 3 singles to clinch the match for the Mustangs (7-1).
The Pilots (2-1) played outdoors for the first time this spring and had to overcome an early deficit, but got strong performances throughout the singles lineup to bring the result down to the wire.
SMU took the doubles point with wins at the No. 2 and No. 3 positions.
The Pilots responded with sophomore Eleftherios Neos cruising to a 6-2, 6-1 win at No. 4 singles to improve to 3-0 this spring without dropping a set.
Senior Carlos Donat made a victorious return to the lineup after missing all of last year and the first two dual matches this spring due to injury. He slotted in at No. 5 singles and defeated Huntley Allen 6-4, 6-3.
SMU picked up straight set wins at the No. 2 and No. 6 positions to pull ahead 3-2.
Graduate transfer Kostya Nesterenko came up big under pressure at the top of the lineup for Portland to tie the score. He won the first set against Caleb Chakravarthi 6-3, but dropped the second set in a tiebreaker. After going down a break in the third set, he stormed back for a 6-4 victory to even the score.
That left the deciding match between Pilot sophomore Sema Pankin and Vaise. Pankin lost the opening set in a tiebreaker, but pushed it to a third set by claiming the tiebreak win in the second. Vaise jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the third before Pankin won three straight games. Vaise was able to hold off the rally for a 6-4 victory.
"I had a feeling that we would get better as the weekend went on, but we just got too late of a start," Portland head coach Aaron Gross said. "Doubles was not great. Kostya did a great job in singles, as did Lefty and Carlos, but we showed some rust and inexperience in a couple of other spots. Sema will find his range, but we would like to have that one again."
Portland will conclude the road trip with a neutral site match against UT-San Antonio at the SMU Tennis Complex on Sunday at 7 a.m. (PST).
"San Antonio is the exact same level as SMU and we have to turn it around quick," Gross noted. "That's why we are here – tough competitive matches, feedback for things to keep working on and to see how guys respond to challenges. We will lace them up again tomorrow and put in the work and see what happens. It will be fun."
SMU 4, Portland 3
Dallas, Texas (SMU Tennis Complex)
February 1, 2020
Singles
1. Kostya Nesterenko (POR) def. Caleb Chakravarthi (SMU) 6-3, 6-7, 6-4
2. Carles Sarrio (SMU) def. Tom Hann (POR) 6-3, 6-4
3. Tomas Vaise (SMU) def. Sema Pankin (POR) 7-6, 6-7, 6-4
4. Eleftherios Neos (POR) def. Ethan Leon (SMU) 6-2, 6-1
5. Carlos Donat (POR) def. Huntley Allen (SMU) 6-4, 6-3
6. Jordi Redelijk (SMU) def. Nicklas Oberg (POR) 6-4, 6-4
Doubles
1. Caleb Chakravarthi/Ethan Leon (SMU) vs. Kostya Nesterenko/Tom Hann (POR) 4-4, unfinished
2. Carles Sarrio/Juan Jose Bianchi (SMU) def. Sema Pankin/Eleftherios Neos (POR) 6-1
3. Huntley Allen/Tomas Vaise (SMU) def. Issa Yoshida/Leo Hibi (POR) 6-4
Match Notes:
Portland 2-1
SMU 7-1
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3); Singles (4,5,2,6,3)