SEATTLE, Wash. – Portland men's tennis put a scare in Washington, but came up short in a 4-3 loss to the Huskies Friday at the Nordstrom Tennis Center.

The Huskies (4-2) secured the doubles point with comfortable wins at the No. 2 and No. 3 positions. Portland's No. 1 tandem of Nikola Keremedchiev and Cade Fernando were leading 5-2 when the match was abandoned.

Washington added to their overall lead with straight set wins at No. 6 and No. 2 singles before the Pilots (2-4) stormed back and nearly pulled off the epic comeback.

Lucas Kimelman got the Pilots on the board with a 7-5, 6-3 win over Daniel Bien at No. 5 singles. Fernando and Skobelev each forced a third set at No. 3 and No. 4, respectively. Shortly thereafter, Washington got the clinching point at No. 1 singles, but not without drama.

After dropping the first set and trailing 6-5 in the second, Keremedchiev broke Soham Purohit's serve to force a tiebreaker. A tough overrule call against Keremedchiev at 3-3 in the tiebreak gave Purohit two free points and he finished it out two points later. Fernando and Skobelev continued their matches and pulled out victories to make it a 4-3 final.

"You have to take advantage of opportunities and can't have lapses to beat a Power 4 team on their own court," Portland head coach Aaron Gross said. "Our doubles play was terrible today. I think we competed well in a few spots, but our level was not great overall. Sometimes I'd rather compete well then play well, but to get these kind of wins you have to do both."

Portland has a quick turnaround and will take on the Utah State Aggies Saturday at 6 p.m in Eugene, Ore. at the Student Tennis Center.

Washington 4, Portland 3
Seattle, Wash. (Nordstrom Tennis Center)
February 6, 2026

Singles
1. Soham Purohit (UW) def. Nikola Keremedchiev (POR) 6-4, 7-6 (3)
2. Stephane Kamendje (UW) def. Tom Garcia (POR) 6-4, 6-1
3. Cade Fernando (POR) def. Brett Pearson (UW) 6-7, 6-3, 6-4
4. Stefan Skobelev (POR) def. Hyeonseok Seo (UW) 6-7, 7-6 (3), 6-3
5. Lucas Kimelman (POR) def. Daniel Bien (UW) 7-5, 6-3
6. Nikola Plavsic (UW) def. Tannor Binder (POR) 6-1, 6-2

Doubles
1. Pearson/Purohit (UW) vs. Keremedchiev/Fernando (POR) 2-5 unfinished
2. Kamendje/Plavsic (UW) def. Garcia/Skobelev (POR) 6-2
3. Seo/Bien (UW) def. Binder/Kimelman (POR) 6-1

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

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