PORTLAND, Ore. – The Portland Pilots are back home at the Louisiana-Pacific Tennis Center for a dual match against the BYU Cougars. The match is set for Thursday, Apr. 1 at 11 a.m. Live stats and video will be available at PortlandPilots.com.
The Pilots are off to an impressive 8-2 start after being picked to finish seventh in the WCC in the annual preseason coaches poll. They are currently on a four-match winning streak, most recently opening conference play with two big wins. They took down the San Diego Toreros 5-2 for only the second time in program history on Mar. 25 and took down the No. 62 Gonzaga Bulldogs by the same score on Mar. 27.
Eleftherios Neos had an especially solid week for the Pilots. He swept the WCC weekly honors for his play, earning WCC Singles Player of the Week and Doubles Player of the Week along with his partner, Issa Yoshida. He went undefeated in singles play, even earning the clinching point against Gonzaga's Leon Roider, and went 2-0 with Yoshida in doubles play.
BYU was picked to finish third in the WCC with one player named to the All-WCC preseason team in senior Sean Hill. They are 8-5 so far this year and 2-0 in conference play with wins against the Santa Clara Broncos and Saint Mary's Gaels. The Cougars and the Pilots have played three of the same opponents in the Oregon Ducks, the Montana Grizzlies and the Montana State Bobcats, going 2-2 in those matches. BYU swept the Bobcats in their most recent matchup 7-0.
The Pilots and Cougars have played each other six times since 2014, with BYU holding a 4-2 lead in the all-time series. The last time the two teams faced off, the Cougars swept the Pilots 7-0. The last time Portland beat BYU was in 2017, the same year that the Pilots finished first in the WCC.
Next up, the Pilots will head to California for a pair conference matches against the San Francisco Dons and the Santa Clara Broncos. Portland will play the Dons on Friday, Apr. 9 at 12 p.m. and the Broncos on Saturday, Apr. 10 at 11 a.m. Check out PortlandPilots.com for live stats and video.
