EUGENE, Ore. – Portland men's tennis beat the Liberty Flames by a 5-2 margin in a match played Saturday afternoon at the Student Tennis Center on the University of Oregon campus. The Pilots improve to 3-5 with the victory, while the Flames fall to 4-5 overall.

"I'm really proud of the effort tonight" Portland head coach Aaron Gross said. "We have lost several close matches in a row and were feeling snakebitten, but the guys smashed through that wall tonight. Starting with the doubles, Eli and Tom came up huge to clinch for us and then we just carried the momentum into the singles and stuck with it even in some tight moments."

Portland took the doubles point after Nikola Keremedchiev and Cade Fernando won 6-4 at No. 1 and Eli Noel and Tom Garcia clinched with a 7-5 win at No. 3. Keremedchiev and Fernando are now 12-3 this year in doubles and have won five consecutive.

The Pilots took care of business early in singles to put the match away. Stefan Skobelev was a 6-2, 6-2 winner at No. 5 and then Lucas Kimelman won by a 7-5, 6-2 margin at No. 4. Keremedchiev clinched with a 7-5, 6-3 decision at the top of the lineup. Fernando also picked up a three-set win to cap Portland's scoring.

"On paper this is one of the best wins we've had in the last couple of years," Gross noted. "It was just nice to see it all come together tonight after some heartbreakers lately."

The Pilots will take an extended break before hosting the Montana State Bobcats on Sunday, March 1 at the Louisiana-Pacific Tennis Center. Live match coverage links can be found at PortlandPilots.com.

Portland 5, Liberty 2
Eugene, Ore. (Student Tennis Center)
February 14, 2026

Singles
1. Nikola Keremedchiev (POR) def. Rodrigo Santiago Arraez (LIB) 7-5, 6-3
2. Siwanat Auytayakul (LIB) def. Tom Garcia (POR) 4-6, 6-3, 7-5
3. Cade Fernando (POR) def. Carl Roothman (LIB) 7-6, 3-6, 10-8
4. Lucas Kimelman (POR) def. David Ekpenyong (LIB) 7-5, 6-2
5. Stefan Skobelev (POR) def. Benjamin Sparks (LIB) 6-2, 6-2
6. Chase Robinson (LIB) def. Tannor Binder (POR) 5-7, 4-6

Doubles
1. Keremedchiev/Fernando (POR) def. Auytayakul/Roothman (LIB) 6-4
2. Kimelman/Skobelev (POR) vs. Ekpenyong/Sparks (LIB) 6-6, unfinished
3. Garcia/Eli Noel (POR) def. Santiago Arraez/Guy Vorwerk (LIB) 7-5

Order of Finish: Singles (5,4,1,6,3,2); Doubles (1,3)
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