SPOKANE, Wash. – Portland opened West Coast Conference play with a heartbreaking 4-3 loss against the Gonzaga Bulldogs Sunday at the Stevens Center. The match was even throughout, but the Bulldogs (9-5) finished it with a pair of three-set wins to clinch the opener.

Gonzaga secured the doubles point with wins at the top two positions. The Pilots (6-5) cruised to a 6-1 win at No. 3 doubles behind Lucas Kimelman and Tom Garcia, but the Bulldogs responded with a pair of 6-4, 6-4 decisions.

The Pilots answered with straight set wins in singles from Stefan Skobelev and Tom Garcia at No. 3 and No. 4, respectively, to retake the overall lead. Gonzaga got a win from Jay Fairclough at No. 5 and then the final three singles matches each went three sets.

Cade Fernando pulled out a 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 win against Oscar Rashed at No. 6 to push the Pilots back ahead.

Gonzaga was able to pull it out with wins from Giovanni Branchetti and Kai Ampaw at the top two spots.

"To win on the road in our conference requires a special effort," Portland head coach Aaron Gross said. "There's not much margin for error. Today was particularly hard because of a couple of really good performances. Cade Fernando came back from 0-3 in the third to tie the match. There are times when you lose 4-3 and you know you did everything you possibly could that was controllable. Unfortunately, starting with doubles, we handed away some opportunities and then had just some crazy lapses in concentration in singles. The road doesn't get any easier at this point. This one's a hard one to swallow. Credit to Gonzaga, but I really feel like we shot ourselves in the foot today."

The Pilots continue WCC play with a Bay Area road trip next week. Portland visits Santa Clara on Thursday at 11 a.m. and then Saint Mary's on Saturday at 2 p.m.

Gonzaga 4, Portland 3
Spokane, Wash. (Stevens Center)
March 23, 2025

Singles
1. Giovanni Branchetti (GON) def. Maxim Groysman (POR) 6-4, 3-6, 6-1
2. Kai Ampaw (GON) def. Nikola Keremedchiev (POR) 6-2, 0-6, 6-4
3. Stefan Skobelev (POR) def. Nicholas Reeves (GON) 6-3, 6-4
4. Tom Garcia (POR) def. Tom Dunlop (GON) 6-4, 6-3
5. Jay Fairclough (GON) def. Lucas Kimelman (POR) 6-3, 6-4
6. Cade Fernando (POR) def. Oscar Rashed (GON) 6-1, 4-6, 6-4

Doubles
1. Branchetti/Ampaw (GON) def. Groysman/Skobelev (POR) 6-4
2. Fairclough/Reeves (GON) def. Keremedchiev/Fernando (POR) 6-4
3. Garcia/Kimelman (POR) def. Dunlop/Krauel (GON) 6-1

Match Notes:
Portland 6-5, 0-1 WCC
Gonzaga 8-5, 1-0 WCC
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (3,4,5,6,1,2)
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