PORTLAND, Ore. – Portland men's tennis ran out of steam without two key players in the singles lineup as the Montana Grizzlies came away with a 5-2 victory Friday at the Louisiana-Pacific Tennis Center.

The Grizzlies (6-6) set the tone by claiming the doubles point. UM's No. 1 tandem of Duncan McCall and Baltazar Wiger-Nordas broke an eight-match win streak for Portland's reigning WCC Doubles Team of the Week in Nikola Keremedchiev and Cade Fernando with a 6-4 victory. Montana also picked up a 6-2 win at No. 2 doubles to clinch the first point.

Fernando was unable to go in singles after being injured in doubles. Along with the absence of Lucas Kimelman, Portland had an inexperienced bottom of the lineup.

Keremedchiev fell behind 4-0 at the top of the lineup to Tom Bittner, but then won the next six games to take the first set before cruising 6-1 in the second. Wiger-Nordas gave UM another point with a win at No. 2 singles, but Stefan Skobelev defeated McCall 6-7, 6-3, 7-5 at No. 3 to tie the score at 2-2.

The Grizzlies pick up the final three singles matches in straight sets.

"Montana was just better than us today," Portland head coach Aaron Gross said. "They played some very good doubles and just had a little too much depth in their lineup. We are young down below and need that experience to keep getting better. We battled and did the best we could, but they were just better. Nikola and Stefan had very nice efforts today. We just need to get healthy and learn from our experiences and be ready for some more opportunities coming up."

Portland will now prepare for West Coast Conference action with their opener on the road against the Pacific Tigers on Saturday, March 21 at 1 p.m.

Montana 5, Portland 2
Portland, Ore. (Louisiana-Pacific Tennis Center)
March 13, 2026

Singles
1. Nikola Keremedchiev (POR) def. Tom Bittner (UM) 6-4, 6-1
2. Baltazar Wiger-Nordas (UM) def. Tom Garcia (POR) 6-3, 6-3
3. Stefan Skobelev (POR) def. Duncan McCall (UM) 6-7 (3), 6-3, 7-5
4. Matt Upton (UM) def. Tannor Binder (POR) 6-2, 7-6 (3)
5. Joseph Townes (UM) def. Gian Manhas (POR) 6-1, 6-1
6. Johnny Wilkinson (UM) def. Eli Noel (POR) 6-4, 6-3

Doubles
1. McCall/Wiger-Nordas (UM) def. Keremedchiev/Cade Fernando (POR) 6-4
2. Eivind Tandberg/Bittner (UM) def. Binder/Skobelev (POR) 6-2
3. Garcia/Noel (POR) vs. Upton/Wilkinson (UM) 5-5, unfinished

Match Notes:
Portland 5-8
Montana 6-6
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1); Singles (2,1,3,5,4,6)  Get Your Tickets Now!
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