Box Score PORTLAND, Ore. – The Portland Pilots men's tennis team defeated the Eastern Washington Eagles 7-0 at the Louisiana-Pacific Tennis Center to improve to 2-1 on the young season. Eleftherios Neos earned the clinching point for the Pilots in the No. 2 singles match.
The Pilots swept the doubles convincingly and then secured the team victory by winning the first three singles matches straight sets. Portland went on to sweep the final three matches, giving them the shutout victory. The Pilots didn't drop a single set in the decisive win.
Sema Pankin comfortably won at No. 1 singles by a 6-0, 6-2 margin and helped secure the doubles victory with freshman Nikolas Tvedt. Neos helped earn the deciding points for both doubles and singles, partnering with Issa Yoshida for the No. 1 doubles win and defeating Manuel Balce 6-4, 6-2 in his singles match. Nicklas Oberg improved 3-0 in singles by defeating Erik Sarlvik 6-0, 6-0 at the No. 4 position.
"On paper, this is a match we should win and we took care of business," Portland head coach Aaron Gross said. "To not let a Division I team get more than four games in a set shows a lot of concentration and focus. I think playing Oregon the other night opened our eyes to the level that we want to get to. We know we must compete and focus at that level in practice and in every match. Today we did a great job of that. It's tough to single out any one person because I think everyone really accomplished that task today."
The Pilots will next host Seattle University at the Louisiana-Pacific Tennis Center on Saturday, Feb. 27 at 10 a.m. All Portland home matches will have free live video through Playsight and point-by-point scoring through Tennis-Ticker. Links are available at PortlandPilots.com.
Pilots 7, Eagles 0
Portland, Ore. (Louisiana-Pacific Tennis Center)
February 19, 2021
Singles
- Sema Pankin (UP) def. Martin Bats (EWU) 6-0, 6-2
- Eleftherios Neos (UP) def. Manuel Balce (EWU) 6-4, 6-2
- Issa Yoshida (UP) def. Wout Doumen (EWU) 6-2, 6-1
- Nicklas Oberg (UP) vs. Erik Sarlvik (EWU) 6-0, 6-0
- Nikolas Tvedt (UP) vs. Bruno Ortega (EWU) 6-1, 6-1
- Leo Hibi (UP) vs. Jeremy Mueller (EWU) 6-3, 6-0
Doubles
- Neos/Yoshida (UP) def. Sarlvik/Balce (EWU) 6-2
- Pankin/Tvedt (UP) def. Ortega/Doumen (EWU) 6-1
- Oberg/Hibi (UP) def. Bats/Mueller (EWU) 6-2
Order of Finish: (Singles: 1, 3, 2, 4, 5, 6; Doubles: 2, 1, 3)
Portland: 2-1
Eastern Washington: 0-5
