STOCKTON, Calif. - Portland men's tennis fell 4-2 to Pacific in the West Coast Conference opener for both schools Saturday at the Eve Zimmerman Tennis Center.
The Tigers (7-10) won all three doubles matches and took an early lead.
The Pilots (5-9) battled back in singles to make things interesting. Nikola Keremedchiev and Tannor Binder won No. 1 and No. 5 singles respectively in straight sets. Pacific earned another run at No. 3 singles. Stefan Skobelev led 3-0 in his third set at No. 4, but the Tigers advanced with three-set wins at No. 2 and No. 6.
"We played hard today," Portland head coach Aaron Gross said. "It was a good performance considering we're missing one of our top guys. I think we could have gotten over the hump in several places, but a very difficult road environment combined with a bit of tightness just put it out of reach."
The Pilots were without redshirt junior Cade Fernando, who was dominant this spring at No. 1 doubles and No. 3 singles.
Portland will continue WCC action at home next week against No. 18 San Diego, Friday at 10 a.m. The Pilots will then welcome No. 39 Santa Clara on Sunday at 10 a.m.
- Nikola Keremedchiev (POR) def. Jonty Giesen (PAC) 6-2, 6-3
- C. Schaerltin Coffey (PAC) def. Tom García (POR) 4-6, 6-3, 6-4
- Terence Das (PAC) def. Lucas Kimelman (POR) 6-3, 7-6
- Stefan Skobelev (POR) vs. Nico Rating (PAC) 6-7, 7-6, 3-0 unfinished
- Tannor Binder (POR) final. Reuben De Klerk (PAC) 6-4, 6-4
- Hasith Gummuluru (PAC) defeated. Gian Manhas (POR) 6-2, 4-6, 6-1
Double
- Giesen/Rating (PAC) final. Skobelev/Kimelman (POR) 6-2
- Schaertlin Coffey/De Klerk (PAC) def. García/Eli Noel (POR) 6-4
- Das/Gummuluru (PAC) final. Keremedchiev/Binder (POR) 6-2