PORTLAND, Ore. – The Portland men's tennis team held home court with a 7-0 sweep of Santa Clara in a West Coast Conference dual match Friday at the Louisiana Pacific Tennis Center. The Pilots improve to 5-8 overall and 1-2 in WCC play, while the Broncos fall to 7-7 and 2-1 in league.

"We had an amazing effort today for the simple reason that we probably had the most disappointing match in recent memory last Saturday against San Diego State," Portland head coach Aaron Gross said. "I'm so happy with how the guys responded today. We have high character guys that I hoped would put in this kind of performance, but you just never know after the disappointment of last week."

Portland raced out to the early lead by taking the doubles point with comfortable victories at the No. 2 and No. 3 positions. Nicklas Oberg and Issa Yoshida gave the Pilots the early edge with a 6-3 win at the No. 3 spot and then Julien Penzlin and Nicolas Ocana won by a 6-2 margin to clinch the point at No. 2 doubles.

Eleftherios Neos and Sema Pankin won in straight sets at the No. 3 and No. 1 positions, respectively, to make it a 3-0 lead. Penzlin then clinched the match with a 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 victory over Arthur Neuhaus at No. 2 singles. Penzlin improved to 9-2 in dual play and 2-0 since moving into the No. 2 position.

The bottom of Portland's lineup continued to take care of business as Ocana, Yoshida and Nikolas Tvedt complete the sweep with straight set victories.

"Lefty and Issa played their best matches since the fall," Gross added. "Nick Oberg stepped in and gave a great boost in doubles. We had really good performances all the way down the line. These kinds of days as a coach make the disappointments worth it. Knowing at the end of the day that the sport is filled with heartaches and disappointments at times, but seeing that how a person responds to those disappointments shows everything. That is what these guys will take with them far beyond tennis and into the rest of their lives."

Portland returns to LPTC on Sunday to host the San Francisco Dons at 10 a.m. Live scoring and video for all Pilot home matches are available at PortlandPilots.com.
 
Portland 7, Santa Clara 0
Portland, Ore. (Louisiana Pacific Tennis Center)
April 1, 2022

Singles
1. Sema Pankin (POR) def. Guillaume Dalmasso (SCU) 6-3, 6-4
2. Julien Penzlin (POR) def. Arthur Neuhaus (SCU) 6-2, 4-6, 6-3
3. Eleftherios Neos (POR) def. Mann Shah (SCU) 6-3, 6-1
4. Nicolas Ocana (POR) def. James Bell (SCU) 6-3, 6-0
5. Issa Yoshida (POR) def. Santiago Hinojosa (SCU) 6-2
6. Nikolas Tvedt (POR) def. Nick Cmager (SCU) 6-3, 7-6

Doubles
1. Sema Pankin/Eleftherios Neos (POR) vs. Arthur Neuhaus/Mann Shah (SCU) 4-4, unfinished
2. Julien Penzlin/Nicolas Ocana (POR) def. Guillaume Dalmasso/Santiago Hinojosa (SCU) 6-2
3. Nicklas Oberg/Issa Yoshida (POR) def. James Bell/Nick Cmager (SCU) 6-3

Match Notes:
Santa Clara 7-7, 2-1 WCC
Portland 5-8, 1-2 WCC
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2); Singles (3,1,2,4,5,6)