Box Score BOISE, Idaho – Portland men's tennis opened the season this at the Dar Walters Classic hosted by Boise State at the Appleton Tennis Center. Pilot freshman Arham Mefta picked up his first collegiate win, while Cade Fernando and Stefan Skobelev went a perfect 4-0 in doubles to highlight the weekend.

The tournament was played in a bracketed, mini-dual format which included a doubles match and two singles matches between two-person teams.

In the top blue draw, Portland's two teams both advanced to the quarterfinals before falling. Cade Fernando and Stefan Skobelev defeated a duo from Weber State 3-0 before being edged 2-1 by a Boise State tandem.

Tom Garcia and Tannor Binder picked up a 2-1 win against a pair from Montana State and then were edged 2-1 by Idaho State in the quarterfinals.

Pilot sophomores Gian Manhas and Eli Noel also advanced to the quarterfinals in the Orange Draw with a 2-1 victory against Weber State.  They earned a doubles win against Idaho State, but dropped both singles matches to drop out of the main draw.

Mefta teamed up with players from Idaho in his matches and knocked off Beckham Butler of Weber State in singles 6-3, 6-3 on Saturday for his first victory.

"The highlight of the weekend was definitely Stefan and Cade," Portland head coach Aaron Gross said. "They went 4-0 against the number one teams from all of the schools here and didn't lose a set or even have their serve broken once. Singles was a bit more of a mixed bag. I don't think we lost many matches to players on paper that we shouldn't, but as the fall goes on we need to be ready to step up when we get opportunities against that higher level players and take our chances. I think we got a lot out of the weekend and have a lot to improve on, but we definitely gained some valuable experience."

Overall, the Pilots performed well in doubles with an 9-5 overall record. Tom Garcia and Noel each picked up two singles wins over the weekend.

Portland will return to action at the ITA Northwest Regional Championships hosted by Washington Oct. 15-18.

Dar Walters Classic
Boise, Idaho (Appleton Tennis Center)
Sept. 25-27, 2026

BLUE DRAW
ROUND OF 16
Cade Fernando/Stefan Skobelev (UP) def. Ken Dinh/Dawid Scholtz (WSU) 3-0
Doubles: Fernando/Skobelev (UP) def. Dinh/Scholtz (WSU) 6-1
Singles 1: Fernando (UP) def. Dinh (WSU) 7-6 (1), 6-4
Singles 2: Skobelev (UP) def. Scholtz (WSU) 6-4, 7-6 (5)

Tom Garcia/Tannor Binder (UP) def. Reuben de Klerk/Gareth Igesund (MSU) 2-1
Doubles: Garcia/Binder (UP) def. de Klerk/Igesund (MSU) 6-4
Singles 1: Garcia (UP) def. de Klerk (MSU) 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (2)
Singles 2: Igesund (MSU) def. Binder (UP) 6-1, 5-7, 7-5

QUARTERFINALS
Izan Orgiles/Julius Seifert (BSU) def. Cade Fernando/Stefan Skobelev (UP) 2-1
Doubles: Fernando/Skobelev (UP) def. Orgiles/Seifert (BSU) 6-2
Singles 1: Orgiles (BSU) def. Fernando (UP) 6-4, 6-4
Singles 2: Seifert (BSU) def. Skobelev (UP) 6-3, 1-6, 6-3

Luka Vujacic/Hayden Ciguenza (ISU) def. Tom Garcia/Tannor Binder (UP) 2-1
Doubles: Vujacic/Ciguenza (ISU) def. Garcia/Binder (UP) 7-6 (5)
Singles 1: Garcia (UP) def. Vucacic (ISU) 6-4, 6-4
Singles 2: Ciguenza (ISU) def. Binder (UP) 6-1, 7-5

CONSOLATION
Sep de Visser/Timo de Visser (ISU) def. Cade Fernando/Stefan Skobelev (UP) 2-1
Doubles: Fernando/Skobelev (UP) def. S. de Visser/T. de Visser (ISU) 6-3
Singles 1: S. de Visser (ISU) def. Fernando (UP) 7-6 (1), 3-6, 10-4
Singles 2: T. de Visser (ISU) def. Skobelev (UP) 6-2, 7-5

Eliot Nobel/Alvar Lange (USU) def. Tom Garcia/Tannor Binder (UP) 2-1
Doubles: Nobel/Lange (USU) def. Garcia/Binder (UP) 6-2
Singles 1: Nobel (USU) def. Garcia (UP) 1-6, 7-5, 10-5
Singles 2: Binder (UP) def. Lange (USU) 6-4, 3-6, 10-7

Eliot Nobel/Alvar Lange (USU) def. Cade Fernando/Stefan Skobelev (UP) 2-1
Doubles: Fernando/Skobelev (UP) def. Nobel/Lange (USU) 6-4
Singles 1: Nobel (USU) def. Fernando (UP) 6-4, 6-1
Singles 2: Lange (USU) def. Skobelev (UP) 6-0, 6-1

Sep de Visser/Timo de Visser (ISU) def. Tom Garcia/Tannor Binder (UP) 3-0
Doubles: S. de Visser/T. de Visser (ISU) def. Garcia/Binder (UP) 6-4
Singles 1: S. de Visser (ISU) def. Garcia (UP) 7-5, 6-2
Singles 2: T. de Visser (ISU) def. Binder (UP) 6-3, 3-6, 10-5


ORANGE DRAW
ROUND OF 16
Gian Manhas/Eli Noel (UP) def. Toit Malan/Clement Lecoq (WSU) 2-1
Doubles: Manhas/Noel (UP) def. Malan/Lecoq (WSU) 6-2
Singles 1: Malan (WSU) def. Manhas (UP) 6-4, 3-6, 10-7
Singes 2: Noel (UP) def. Lecoq (WSU) 6-3, 7-5

Rafael Maya/Jack Calleri (ISU) def. Arham Mefta/Noe de Col (UP/UI) 2-1
Doubles: Mefta/de Col (UP/UI) def. Maya/Calleri (ISU) 6-4
Singles 1: Maya (ISU) def. de Col (UI) 6-4, 6-1
Singes 2: Calleri (ISU) def. Mefta (UP) 6-3, 6-3

QUARTERFINALS
Justin Ilic/Lewie Bouman (ISU) def. Gian Manhas/Eli Noel (UP) 2-1
Doubles: Manhas/Noel (UP) def. Ilic/Bouman (ISU) 6-2
Singles 1: Ilic (ISU) def. Manhas (UP) 6-2, 6-4
Singes 2: Bouman (ISU) def. Noel (UP) 6-2, 7-6 (4)

CONSOLATION
Alejandro Garcia/Adam Miner (USU) def. Gian Manhas/Eli Noel (UP) 2-1
Doubles: Garcia/Miner (USU) def. Manhas/Noel (UP) 6-3
Singles 1: Garcia (USU) def. Manhas (UP) 6-4, 6-4
Singes 2: Noel (UP) def. Miner (USU) 6-4, 6-3

Arham Mefta/Noe de Col (UP/UI) def. Toit Malan/Beckham Butler (WSU) 2-1
Doubles: Mefta/de Col (UP/UI) def. Malan/Butler (WSU) 6-2
Singles 1: Malan (WSU) def. de Col (UI) 4-6, 6-4, 10-7
Singes 2: Mefta (UP) def. Butler (WSU) 6-3, 6-3

Rafael Maya/Jack Calleri (ISU) def. Arham Mefta/de Col (UP/UI) 3-0
Doubles: Maya/Calleri (ISU) def. Mefta/de Col (UP/UI) 7-6 (4)
Singles 1: Calleri (ISU) def. de Col (UI)
Singes 2: Maya (ISU) def. Mefta (UP) 3-6, 6-2, 10-7

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