PORTLAND, Ore. – University of Portland men's tennis concluded the regular season with an important 4-3 win against the Gonzaga Bulldogs Saturday in West Coast Conference action at the Louisiana-Pacific Tennis Center. Senior Nikola Keremedchiev performed brilliantly in his final home match for the Pilots by picking up wins in both doubles and singles as Portland earned a necessary win in their hopes of qualifying for next week's WCC Championships.

Gonzaga grabbed the early edge by securing the doubles point. The Bulldogs picked up a 6-2 win at No. 2, but the Pilots responded with Nikola Keremedchiev and Cade Fernando winning 6-4 at No. 1. Gonzaga clinched with a 6-4 victory at the No. 3 spot.

Fernando and Keremedchiev gave the Pilots the lead back with straight set singles wins at the top two positions. Fernando was a 6-2, 6-1 winner at No. 2 over Jay Fairclough and then Keremedchiev beat Oscar Rashed by a 7-6, 7-5 margin at No. 1.

Tom Garcia and Giovanni Branchetti played a marathon at No. 3 singles before Branchetti pulled out the 6-7, 7-6, 6-0 win to tie the team score at 2-2.

Stefan Skobelev put Portland back on top with a 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 comeback win at No. 4, but Gonzaga tied it again with Tom Dunlop's win at No. 6.

Tannor Binder provided the match-clinching point for the Pilots with a thrilling 7-6 (9), 2-6, 6-1 win against Diego Herrera at No. 5 to ignite an on-court celebration.

"Today was a full circle moment as we lost the doubles point and then just battled and battled and battled to try and figure out a way to get four points on the board," Portland head coach Aaron Gross said. "Until the last 10 minutes of the match, it didn't seem like it was going to happen, but Tannor Binder came through huge. Nikola had a good win on Senior Day and Cade played probably the best match of the season. Stefan did a great job of turning around first set loss and then winning fairly decisively.

"I have a lot of respect for Gonzaga. We have pushed each other to get better and this was our last official WCC match against each other, although I'm sure we will continue to battle out of conference. It was the type of match that comes along maybe once a year that guys will be talking about at a reunion 10 years from now. I'm happy for them to have that memory together. As a coach I'm happy to see the resilience, strength and competitiveness they have built throughout the season come out today."

The Pilots now await the announcement of the six-team field for the 2026 West Coast Conference Championships, scheduled for April 23-25 in Fairfield, Calif. at Green Valley Country Club. The tournament seeds and schedule of play will be announced Sunday night. Visit PortlandPilots.com for the latest updates.

Portland 4, Gonzaga 3
Portland, Ore. (Louisiana-Pacific Tennis Center)
April 18, 2026

Singles
1. Nikola Keremedchiev (POR) def. Oscar Rashed (GON) 7-6 (4), 7-5
2. Cade Fernando (POR) def. Jay Fairclough (GON) 6-2, 6-1
3. Giovanni Branchetti (GON) def. Tom Garcia (POR) 6-7 (4), 7-6 (3), 6-0
4. Stefan Skobelev (POR) def. Nicholas Reeves (GON) 2-6, 6-4, 6-3
5. Tannor Binder (POR) def. Diego Herrera (GON) 7-6 (9), 2-6, 6-1
6. Tom Dunlop (GON) def. Gian Manhas (POR) 6-3, 7-5

Doubles
1. Keremedchiev/Fernando (POR) def. Branchetti/Fairclough (GON) 6-4
2. Rashed/Reeves (GON) def. Garcia/Eli Noel (POR) 6-2
3. Gus Krauel/Herrera (GON) def. Binder/Skobelev (POR) 6-4

Match Notes:
Portland 8-13, 2-5 WCC
Gonzaga 7-11, 1-5 WCC
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (2,1,3,4,6,5)
 
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