PORTLAND, Ore. – Portland men's tennis beat the Montana State Bobcats by a 6-1 margin Sunday at the Louisiana-Pacific Tennis Center. The Pilots improve to 4-5 overall and have now won two straight. Montana State falls to 3-6 overall.

Portland seized the early momentum by cruising to the doubles point. The Pilot No. 2 duo of Stefan Skobelev and Lucas Kimelman defeated Yassin Elaroussy and David Ismanescu 6-0 and the No. 1 team of Nikola Keremedchiev and Cade Fernando clinched with a 6-1 win over Oumar Diallo and Andre Stewart.

Fernando doubled Portland's lead with a 6-4, 6-0 win against Oumar Diallo at No. 3 singles. The Bobcats picked up their point at No. 1 singles to make it 2-1 before Tom Garcia outlasted Andre Stewart 7-6, 7-6 at No. 2 singles to put the Pilots back in control.

The bottom of the Pilot lineup took care of business in straight sets to seal the win. Stefan Skobelev was a 7-5, 6-4 winner versus David Ismanescu to provide the match-clinching point. Tannor Binder won 6-4, 6-4 at No. 5 and freshman Gian Manhas was a 6-3, 6-2 winner at No. 6 singles.

"We played some amazing doubles today, which I thought was going to carry us right through the first round of singles," Portland head coach Aaron Gross said. "But the Bobcats competed really hard, and it turned into a four-and-a-half-hour match. We had a lot of sticky situations we had to work through, and it was nice to see us come through. I'd like our level to be a little bit higher, but our competitiveness was good."

The Pilots will return to action next week at the Golden State Invite hosted by UC Davis and Sacramento State. Portland will open the event with a Friday doubleheader versus the Aggies at 10 a.m. followed by Nevada in the afternoon. The team will then head to Sacramento to take on New Mexico State on Saturday at 10 a.m.

Portland 6, Montana State 1
Portland, Ore. (Louisiana-Pacific Tennis Center)
March 1, 2026

Singles
1. Yassin Elaroussy (MSU) def. Nikola Keremedchiev (POR) 7-6 (4), 6-4
2. Tom Garcia (POR) def. Andre Stewart (MSU) 7-6 (3), 7-6 (3)
3. Cade Fernando (POR) def. Oumar Diallo (MSU) 6-4, 6-0
4. Stefan Skobelev (POR) def. David Ismanescu (MSU) 7-5, 6-4
5. Tannor Binder (POR) def. Camille Chantron (MSU) 6-4, 6-4
6. Gian Manhas (POR) def. Elijah Calaquian (MSU) 6-3, 6-2

Doubles
1. Keremedchiev/Fernando (POR) def. Diallo/Stewart (MSU) 6-1
2. Lucas Kimelman/Skobelev (POR) def. Elaroussy/Ismanescu (MSU) 6-0
3. Garcia/Eli Noel (POR) vs. Chantron/Eddie Biss (MSU) 5-3, unfinished

Match Notes:
Portland 4-5
Montana State 3-6
Order of Finish: Singles (3,1,2,4,5,6); Doubles (2,1)
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