PORTLAND, Ore. – The Portland men's tennis team earned a 4-0 sweep over the San Francisco Dons in a West Coast Conference dual match Sunday at the Louisiana Pacific Tennis Center. The Pilots, who swept Santa Clara on Friday by a 7-0 margin, improved to 5-0 at home this season.

The Pilots (6-8, 2-2 WCC) set the tone early by taking the doubles point with wins at the No. 1 and No. 3 positions. Sema Pankin and Eleftherios Neos picked up a 6-1 victory at No. 1 doubles and then Nicklas Oberg and Issa Yoshida clinched the point with a 6-4 win at the No. 3 spot.

Pankin then cruised to a 6-0, 6-0 win over Nil Giraldez at the top of the singles lineup. Pankin improved to 9-4 at No. 1 singles at the top of the order and 3-1 in WCC matches for Portland.

Ocana moved up to the No. 3 position and pulled out a 6-0, 1-6, 6-1 victory over Phuc Huynh and improved to 7-2 in matches this spring. Neos clinched it for the Pilots with a 6-3, 4-6, 6-1 win against Nitzan Ricklis at No. 2 singles.

"We took care of business today," Portland head coach Aaron Gross said. "Doubles was a little too passive and I think we were fortunate to get through with the point. Sema Pankin then played an unbelievable 45 minutes in beating a very good player 6-0, 6-0. Lefty and Ocana showed terrific grit in winning three set matches against very solid players."

Issa Yoshida was up a set at No. 4 singles versus Mitch Johnson when the overall match was clinched and play stopped.

Portland hits the road for two more WCC matches next weekend. The Pilots visit Loyola Marymount on Friday at noon and then conclude the trip Saturday at No. 20 Pepperdine at 1 p.m.

"The last two weekends were really trying in altitude in Utah and then in San Diego," Gross said. "I think we went through some pain on those weekends and learned some good lessons and used those lessons this weekend to get a couple of nice wins. It feels really good to see the hard work that these guys have been putting in pay off."

Portland 4, San Francisco 0
Portland, Ore. (Louisiana Pacific Tennis Center)
April 3, 2022

Singles
1. Sema Pankin (POR) def. Nil Giraldez (USF) 6-0, 6-0
2. Eleftherios Neos (POR) def. Nitzan Ricklis (USF) 6-3, 4-6, 6-1
3. Nicolas Ocana (POR) def. Phuc Huynh (USF) 6-0, 1-6, 6-1
4. Issa Yoshida (POR) vs. Mitch Johnson (USF) 6-1, 1-3 unfinished
5. Nikolas Tvedt (POR) def. Stevie Gould (USF) unfinished
6. Oscar Brown (POR) def. David Woodland (USF) unfinished

Doubles
1. Sema Pankin/Eleftherios Neos (POR) def. Phyc Huynh/Nitzan Ricklis (USF) 6-1
2. Julien Penzlin/Nicolas Ocana (POR) vs. Mitch Johnson/Nil Giraldez (USF) 5-6 unfinished
3. Nicklas Oberg/Issa Yoshida (POR) def. Stevie Gould/Nikola Kuraica (USF) 6-4

Match Notes:
San Francisco 10-8, 2-2 WCC
Portland 6-8, 2-2 WCC
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3); Singles (1,3,2)