PORTLAND, Ore. – Portland handed BYU men's tennis its first conference loss of the season despite a strong singles effort from senior Jacob Sullivan on Friday afternoon at the Louisiana-Pacific Tennis Center.  

"We knew this would be a tough match," BYU head coach Brad Pearce said. "Portland is a good team. I was proud of the way we competed at every position and I liked our energy and fight. We'll be better tomorrow."

Portland (13-1, 3-0 West Coast Conference) took control early with wins at first and third doubles. Mike Pervolarakis and Mathieu Garcia defeated Keaton Cullimore and John Pearce 6-0, while Jamie Fisher and Carlos Donat came out with a 6-3 win over Matthew Pearce and Sam Tullis.

BYU (11-9, 4-1 WCC) struggled to keep up as No. 114 Pervolarakis topped Cullimore in straight sets. Sullivan fought back for the Cougars, posting a 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 victory over Mathieu Garcia at No. 2 singles, before Pierre Garcia outlasted Matthew Pearce 7-6(5), 7-5 to earn Portland’s third point of the match. Carlos Donat secured the win for the Pilots at No. 5 singles with a victory over Aidan Carrazedo.

BYU continues on the road to face Gonzaga on Saturday, April 1, at noon PDT, before returning to Provo for its final home match of the season against Saint Mary’s on Friday, April 7, at noon MDT. 

Portland 4, BYU 1

Doubles competition 

1. PERVOLARAKIS, Mike/GARCIA, Mathieu (POR) def. CULLIMORE, Keaton/PEARCE, John (BYU) 6-0 
2. GARCIA, Pierre/FAN, Felix (POR) vs. CARRAZEDO, Aidan/SULLIVAN, Jacob (BYU) 3-5, unfinished 
3. FISHER, Jamie/DONAT, Carlos (POR) def. PEARCE, Matthew/TULLIS, Sam (BYU) 6-3 

Order of finish: (1,3)

Singles competition 

1. #114 PERVOLARAKIS, Mike (POR) def. CULLIMORE, Keaton (BYU) 6-3, 6-4
2. SULLIVAN, Jacob (BYU) def. GARCIA, Mathieu (POR) 6-2, 3-6, 6-1
3. GARCIA, Pierre (POR) def. PEARCE, Matthew (BYU) 7-6 (7-5), 7-5
4. WALLACE, Alex (POR) vs. PEARCE, John (BYU) 2-6, 7-5, 1-4, unfinished
5. DONAT, Carlos (POR) def. CARRAZEDO, Aidan (BYU) 6-1, 6-4
6. FAN, Felix (POR) vs. TULLIS, Sam (BYU) 6-5, unfinished

Order of finish: (1,2,3,5)

PROVO, Utah – After a dominating win over San Diego at home, BYU men’s tennis travels to the Pacific Northwest to take on Portland and Gonzaga this weekend.

BYU (11-8, 4-0 West Coast Conference) earned its fourth-straight WCC victory after defeating San Diego for the first time in four years. Jacob Sullivan and John Pearce posted wins in both doubles and singles as Pearce’s 6-4, 6-4 victory over the Torero’s Guus Koevermans at the No. 4 slot sealed the match 4-0 for the Cougars.

Portland (12-1, 2-0 WCC) picked up a pair of road wins against San Francisco and Santa Clara to open conference play last weekend. The Pilots are riding an eight-match win streak and have won 16 consecutive matches at home. Last year, No. 58 BYU took down No. 72 Portland 5-2 in Provo.

Gonzaga (6-6, 0-2 WCC) also opened conference play on the road last weekend but fell to both Santa Clara and San Francisco. Last season, the No. 58 Cougars swept the Zags 4-0 at home.

BYU plays Portland on Friday, March 31, at 10 a.m. PDT at the Louisiana-Pacific Tennis Center and Gonzaga on Saturday, April 1, at 12 p.m. at the Stevens Center. Results will be posted to the BYU men’s tennis schedule page.