The University of Portland men’s tennis team defeated the Pepperdine Waves at home on Friday, 4-3, to claim the program’s first-ever regular season West Coast Conference title.
Pepperdine was in control after five sets, 3-2. But junior Alex Wallace clinched a comeback victory at the No. 4 singles position to tie the match at three sets apiece.
This set up the final game at the Louisiana Pacific Tennis Center, as sophomore Carlos Donat matched up with the Waves’ Jack Van Slyke. After falling in the first set, 4-6, Donat went on to win the next two— 6-3 and 7-5, respectively— to seal the win for No. 50 Portland (17-2, 7-1 WCC).
With the victory, the Pilots also extend their home winning streaking to 19 matches.
The team will close out the regular season against LMU today before setting their sights on the WCC Championships in Claremont, Calif. April 27-29.
As the No. 1 seed, the Pilots will face the winner of the No. 4/No. 5 matchup in the semifinals on April 28. The WCC tournament champion earns an automatic berth to the NCAA championships.
