Box Score PORTLAND, Ore. – The Portland Pilots knocked off crosstown rival Portland State by a 5-2 margin in the men's tennis season-opener for both programs on Friday at the Louisiana-Pacific Tennis Center.  Freshman Nikolas Tvedt providing the clinching point in his Pilot debut, while also picking up an important doubles victory.

"It was a joy to finally get to compete after almost a year away," Portland head coach Aaron Gross said. "It was also a major struggle trying to find our games in a competitive situation. Everyone knew what to expect, but it's hard when you're going through it. No question it will keep getting better, but I would guess that not one of the 12 players playing today felt like they played a good match. We did enough to get the win which was good."

Tvedt, a native of Oslo, Norway, defeated Nils Plutat by a 6-3, 6-4 margin at No. 5 singles. He teamed up with Sema Pankin at No. 2 doubles for a 6-3 win as well.

"Nikolas getting both a doubles and a singles win was a definite bright spot," Gross said. "He was one of only two players on campus last fall working on his game. He has been hearing stories about college tennis matches for a while so it was great that he got to experience it and secure the deciding point in singles."

Portland secured the doubles point with Nicklas Oberg and Leo Hibi recording a 6-3 win at No. 3 singles.

Pankin continued the momentum with a straight sets win at No. 1 singles over Matteo Fortini.

The Vikings picked up wins at the No. 2 and No. 3 singles positions to tie the score, but Portland swept all three matches at the bottom of the lineup.

Oberg cruised to a 6-1, 6-1 victory against Bryan Husin and Hibi concluded the scoring with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Tommy Hsu.

Portland is next scheduled to take the court in a road match at Oregon on Sunday, Feb. 14.

Portland 5, Portland State 2
Portland, Ore. (Louisiana-Pacific Tennis Center)
February 5, 2021

Singles
1. Sema Pankin (UP) def. Matteo Fortini (PSU) 6-4, 6-3
2. Tommy Edwards (PSU) def. Eleftherios Neos (UP) 6-4, 6-3
3. Nikola Dimitrijevic (PSU) def. Issa Yoshida (UP) 3-6, 6-3, 6-3
4. Nicklas Oberg (UP) def. Bryan Husin (PSU) 6-1, 6-1
5. Nikolas Tvedt (UP) def. Nils Plutat (PSU) 6-3, 6-4
6. Leo Hibi (UP) def. Tommy Hsu (PSU) 6-4, 6-4

Doubles
1. Edwards/Fortini (PSU) def. Neos/Yoshida (UP) 6-3
2. Pankin/Tvedt (UP) def. Plutat/Hsu (PSU) 6-3
3. Oberg/Hibi (UP) def. Dimitrijevic/Husin (PSU) 6-3

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