PORTLAND, Ore. – The San Francisco men's tennis team is peaking in the closing weeks of the regular season, taking down its third straight opponent of the week. USF earned a 4-1 decision at Portland's Louisiana-Pacific Tennis Center Saturday afternoon.
USF handed the Pilot's just their second loss in West Coast Conference action, as Portland moves to 11-6 (4-2 WCC). With the victory, the Dons even the season record at 12-12, and stand at 2-6 in league action. The defeat was Portland's first home loss of the year.
"I am very proud of how bad the guys want to do well," head coach
Pablo Pires de Almeida said. "They all care about each other so much, and they all want to succeed for each other in every match. Today we had great team effort on the court and off."
The match started with Portland on top, after taking two of three in doubles play. The Dons' top duo of
Bernardo Saraiva and
Nils Skajaa continued a solid spring by taking down Portland's Alex Ferrero and Ratan Gill, 8-4. The Green and Gold tandem has now won their last three outings, and improved to 10-7 in the spring after the victory at Portland.
Skajaa got the Dons off to a good start in singles play, taking the first set and playing dominant tennis in the second before competitor Reid deLaubenfels retired due to illness. Next, Saraiva finished off Michel Hu Kwo to put USF ahead in the match. Saraiva, a junior from Lisbon, Spain, was down a break in the second before rebounding for the impressive win to improve his dual match tally to 17-7.
USF's third point came in the No. 4 position.
Thomas Takemoto fell behind, but Portland senior Alex Ferrero sustained an injury running for a ball and was forced to retire.
James Tallman, a redshirt junior from Del Paso Heights, Calif., came up with the clinching point in the match. After Gill notched a 6-3 victory in the first set, Tallman roared back with 6-4, 6-4 wins to clinch his match and give USF its decisive fourth point of the day.
In its next time on the courts, USF plays its final WCC match of the regular season. The Dons face off with Saint Mary's Wednesday in Moraga, Calif.
Â
San Francisco 4, Portland 1April 12 | Portland, Ore.
Singles |
Order of finish: 2, 1, 4, 3*No. 1 –
Bernardo Saraiva (USF) def. Michel Hu Kwo (UP); 6-4, 7-6(3)
No. 2 –
Nils Skajaa (USF) def. Reid deLaubenfels (UP); 6-4, 4-2, ret.
No. 3 –
James Tallman (USF) def. Ratan Gill (UP); 3-6, 6-4, 6-4
No. 4 –
Thomas Takemoto (USF) def. Alex Ferrero (UP); 2-4, ret.
No. 5 –
Germain Bahri (USF) vs. Justin Guay (UP); DNF
No. 6 –
Timothy Tan (USF) vs. Kent Andreasen (UP); DNF
Doubles |
Order of finish: unknownNo. 1 – Saraiva/Skajaa (USF) def. Ferrero/Gill (UP); 8-4
No. 2 – Andraesen/deLaubenfels (UP) def. Takemoto/Tan (USF); 8-5
No. 3 – Guay/Hu Kwo (UP) def. Bahri/Tallman (USF); 8-1
