The Portland Pilots men's tennis team will be back in action this weekend with dual matches against the Washington Huskies and the Montana State Bobcats. The match against the Huskies will take place on Friday at 5 p.m. in Seattle, Wash. and the match against the Bobcats will take place back in Portland at the Louisiana-Pacific Tennis Center on Sunday at 11 a.m. You can find links to live stats and video at PortlandPilots.com.

Portland is off to a hot start this season with a 4-1 record. Before the season started, the Pilots were selected to finish seventh in the West Coast Conference annual preseason poll.

In their most recent dual match, the Pilots took down the Cal Poly Mustangs 4-3 in a thrilling neutral site win. Four of the six singles matches went to three sets with the Pilots clinching the victory with wins from Issa Yoshida and Leo Hibi in the No. 3 and No. 6 singles matches. The Pilots also earned wins in the No. 1 and No. 2 singles matches, with Sema Pankin and Eleftherios Neos winning in straight sets. Pankin's victory pushed him to 4-1 in singles matches this season at the top of the lineup.

The Washington Huskies are 6-5 through their first 11 matches this year. Before the season, the Huskies had two players in the Spring ITA rankings in Jack Davis (ranked No. 65) and Clement Chidekh (named one of the top 10 newcomers). In their most recent match, the Huskies dispatched the Gonzaga Bulldogs 7-0, their sixth sweep and win of the season.

Washington has played four opponents that the Pilots have also faced this season: The Eastern Washington Eagles, the Seattle Redhawks, the Oregon Ducks, and the Portland State Vikings. The Huskies beat the Eagles twice and swept the Redhawks and Vikings but fell to the Ducks 4-3.

The Montana State Bobcats, meanwhile, have only played two matches this season, both of those being wins against the Idaho State Bengals. Montana State had to pause men's tennis activities due to having one or more players either in quarantine or in isolation due to COVID-19 protocol. The Bobcats were picked to finish seventh in the 2021 Big Sky Men's Tennis Preseason Poll. They have played the Pilots six times in their program's history, losing all six matches. The two teams last played on March 14, 2017, with Portland sweeping Montana State 7-0.

After this weekend, the Pilots will stay at home for their matchup against the Montana Grizzlies. That match will be the final one before conference play opens, taking place on Saturday, March 20. Matches will begin at 11 a.m.