Cougars win 4-2 in first conference match against Portland

PROVO, Utah – In its first conference match of the season, BYU men’s tennis claimed the win in a 4-2 match over University of Portland at the BYU Outdoor Tennis Courts on Saturday.  

“We are thrilled with the win today,” said head coach Dave Porter. “Portland is a very good tennis team, and we played some of our best tennis against them. We came out strong in doubles, beating two ranked teams to get the doubles point and didn’t let up at all in singles. The players worked hard, and I am very proud of them. We have a week to heal up and get ready for the tough Gonzaga team next Friday.”

With a strong start in doubles, BYU’s Matheus Leite and Mateo Vereau dominated at No. 2 with a 6-1 win against ranked doubles duo, Eleftherios Neos and Sema Pankin. Wally Thayne and Tennyson Whiting followed close behind with a 6-3 win at No. 1 doubles to secure the doubles point for BYU.

Portland came back in singles play with a win at No. 3 singles to tie the match 1-1.  With an ace to end the first set, senior Leite continued the momentum with a 6-4, 6-4 win at No. 2 singles putting BYU back on top, leading 2-1.

In a tight match at No. 5 singles, Otto Schreiner battled for the win in a first set tiebreak. BYU’s Schreiner came out on top with a score of 7-6 (2), 6-3 to keep the Cougars ahead 3-1.

Splitting sets at No. 1, 4, and 6 singles, BYU continued to fight for the final point. At No. 1 singles, Thayne fell 3-6, 7-5 (5), 1-6 to give the Pilots their second point. Dominik Jakovljevic fought hard at No. 4 singles and came out with a win in three sets, securing the 4-2 win for BYU over Portland.

The Cougars will play home again next Friday, hosting the Gonzaga Bulldogs. The match is scheduled to begin at 12 p.m. MDT.

MATCH RESULTS

Singles:

1. Sema Pankin (POR) def. Wally Thayne (BYU) 6-3, 6-7 (5-7), 6-1
2. Matheus Ferreira Lei (BYU) def. Eleftherios Neos (POR) 6-4, 6-4
3. Julien Penzlin (POR) def. Mateo Vereau (BYU) 6-2, 6-2
4. Dominik Jakovljevic (BYU) def. Issa Yoshida (POR) 6-4, 1-6, 6-2
5. Otto Schreiner (BYU) def. Nikolas Tvedt (POR) 7-6 (7-2), 6-3
6. Alex Lin (BYU) vs. Nicolas Ocana (POR) 3-6, 6-1, 2-3

Doubles:

1. Wally Thayne and Tennyson Whiting (BYU) def. Eleftherios Neos and Issa Yoshida (POR) 6-3
2. Matheus Ferreira Lei and Mateo Vereau (BYU) def. Sema Pankin and Nikolas Tvedt (POR) 6-1
3. Otto Schreiner and Alex Lin (BYU) vs. Nicklas Oberg and Oscar Brown (POR) 3-2

Order of finish: Singles -- 3 2 5 1 4 ; Doubles -- 2 1