HONOLULU, Hawaii – A shorthanded Portland men's tennis team battled but came up short in a 4-3 defeat to the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors Saturday at the UH Tennis Complex. The Pilots (2-3) played without two primary lineup players as Lucas Kimelman was unavailable throughout and Stefan Skobelev was pulled from singles due to illness.

"With a couple of our key guys sick the expectations weren't super high tonight," Portland head coach Aaron Gross said. "But we had guys really step up and gave us a chance right up to the end to steal a really good road win."

The Rainbow Warriors (2-3) recorded the decisive doubles point with wins at the No. 2 and No. 3 positions. Portland's No. 1 duo of Nikola Kermedchiev and Cade Fernando were dominant in a 6-0 win at the top spot over Timothy Li and Kisuke Nakanishi.

"Cade and Nikola played some of the best doubles I have seen from a Portland team in a long time," Gross said.

Fernando cruised to a 6-2, 6-0 win at No. 3 singles over Nakanishi to put the Pilots on the board. Hawaii went up 3-1 with straight set wins at No. 1 and No. 6 before Portland put the pressure on the host side.

The final three singles matches all went to three sets. Portland got wins from Tom Garcia at No. 2 and freshman Gian Manhas at No. 5, but Kent Mueller outlasted Tannor Binder at No. 4 to provide the clinching point for Hawaii.

"Our freshmen got some valuable experience in the lineup today," Gross noted. "Gian did an excellent job in getting a win over a very solid player. Cade played very high-level tennis and Tom fought through a tough third set. Tannor played some of his best tennis we have seen and was so close to getting over the finish line which would have gotten us the victory.

"It's too bad that we couldn't have been full strength and given ourselves the best shot possible, but the bright side is that our younger guys gained experience and some of our older guys really raised their level."

Portland will return to action next weekend against the Washington Huskies in Seattle on Friday, Feb. 6 at 4 p.m. The Pilots will then take on Utah State in a neutral site match in Eugene on Saturday at 6 p.m. Visit PortlandPilots.com for complete match coverage.

Hawaii 4, Portland 3
Honolulu, Hawaii (UH Tennis Complex)
January 31, 2026

Singles
1. Azuma Visaya (UH) def. Nikola Keremedchiev (POR) 6-0, 6-3
2. Tom Garcia (POR) def. Timothy Li (UH) 6-7 (6), 6-1, 6-4
3. Cade Fernando (POR) def. Kisuke Nakanishi (UH) 6-2, 6-0
4. Kent Mueller (UH) def. Tannor Binder (POR) 2-6, 6-2, 7-5
5. Gian Manhas (POR) def. Toa Maeda (UH) 7-6 (6), 4-6, 10-7
6. Adriano Dzhenev (UH) def. Eli Noel (POR) 6-1, 6-4

Doubles
1. Keremedchiev/Fernando (POR) def. Li/Nakanishi (UH) 6-0
2. Maeda/Visaya (UH) def. Stefan Skobelev/Garcia (POR) 6-2
3. Mueller/Dzhenev (UH) def. Noel/Binder (POR) 6-3

Team Notes
Portland 2-3
Hawaii 2-3
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (6,3,1,4,2,5)
  Get Your Tickets Now!
Secure your spot now for any upcoming Portland Pilots ticketed home event by visiting PortlandPilots.com/Tickets or by downloading the Portland Pilots App.  For group and fan experience package information, email pilotsboxoffice@up.edu.

Donate Today 
Fans interested in making a contribution to University of Portland Athletics can do so by clicking here. Your gift helps our over 300 student-athletes compete at the highest level – on and off the field - in the rapidly changing world of intercollegiate athletics. All gifts to Pilot Athletics are 100% tax deductible.

Follow Along With the Action
Get the latest news and information about your favorite University of Portland athletic programs by visiting PortlandPilots.com. You can also follow along for the most dynamic coverage and team-centric content by following us on Twitter, liking us on Facebook, and following us on Instagram.