Men's Tennis: Highest Ranking in Program History!

Just wanted to give some love to the men's tennis team... they are ranked #41 right now, which is the highest ranking in program history: http://portlandpilots.com/news/2017/4/4/pilots-jump-to-no-41-in-ita-mens-tennis-rankings.aspx

They are 14-1 overall, undefeated in WCC play so far, and after beating then-#49 San Diego last week are the highest-ranked WCC team. They have a very good chance to win Portland's first WCC title in tennis (men's or women's) and advance to the NCAA tournament for (I believe) the first time as a team.

Exciting stuff!!!

Woo! Talk about an underrated Pilot program. Both tennis teams have been improving substantially in recent years. The women had a pretty good run last year or the year before that, right?

This is awesome!

SouthCarolinaPilot wrote:The women had a pretty good run last year or the year before that, right?

Yes, the women had some terrific seasons the past few years, but lost some really strong players that graduated after last season.

The most exciting thing about this year's men's team is that none of their key players are seniors, so they should be returning a very strong team next year.

It's been really fun to see the growth in programs like men's and women's tennis, men's soccer, volleyball, women's XC (they have always been solid, but have taken a real leap in recent years), and rowing. There was a time when we were really only consistently competitive in women's soccer and both XC programs... would be so fun if the success of all our other programs became sustained. I think the real challenge will be hanging on to some of the coaches if that does happen - you'd have to believe that Nick Carlin-Voigt and Brent Crouch are on the radars of bigger schools.

The men's team hosts Pepperdine tomorrow (Friday, 1PM) with the WCC title on the line. Both teams have 6-1 conference records. Live video will be available on the website if you can't make it.

Portland has only beaten Pepperdine once in its history, two years ago at the LP Tennis Center.

Even with a loss, the Pilots still have a chance to advance to the NCAAs if they can win the conference tournament.

Thanks for the update. Any idea how the WCC recognizes championships and does tournament auto bids? Is it like basketball where there are regular season and tournament champions? I imagine the tournament champion gets the auto-bid.

SouthCarolinaPilot wrote:Thanks for the update. Any idea how the WCC recognizes championships and does tournament auto bids? Is it like basketball where there are regular season and tournament champions? I imagine the tournament champion gets the auto-bid.

About 99% sure it's the same as basketball, with only the tournament winner guaranteed a spot.

I don't know a whole lot about the NCAA tennis tournament, but I would imagine that Portland's ranking (50th) would mean that an at-large bid is unlikely.

Tennis must be rougher than I thought.

@PortlandPilots wrote:MTEN: Lineups set w/ #WCC title on the line! With Fan (concussion) out, frosh Newell makes his dual debut.

They did it!!!!

It was absolutely down to the wire, but the Pilots pulled it out in the end. Carlos Donat (in the 5th position singles) was the hero - the match was tied 3-3 and he was down a set, but he rallied back to win 4-6, 6-3, 7-5. The last set was pretty tense... Donat was up 5-3, the Pepperdine player came back to tie it 5-5, but then Donat pulled out the last two games for the win.

Portland's first WCC championship in tennis. Pretty awesome.

Great news.

How do you get a concussion in tennis?

Geezaldinho wrote:Great news.

How do you get a concussion in tennis?

1. Go backwards to hit an overhead, catch a toe, and go over backwards hitting the back of your head on the ground. (This almost happened to me.)

2. Run back to the screen to get to a lob, run into the screen, and hit the concrete wall behind the screen. (Something like this happened at a local tennis club and ended up in the worst possible way.)

3. Working out with a medicine ball with a team mate, get off balance and fall backwards hitting your head on the wall. (This happened with a UP tennis player.)

4. Be bad, go skiing, and get clobbered by an out of control snow boarder. (This happened to a player I coached.)

This is awesome!

Let's not forget they play LMU today. While a W is not necessary conference-wise, it would be good for the general RPI-type ranking to keep the momentum. Then the WCC championships are next weekend at the CMS tennis complex. Looks to me like the Pilots will get a bye until the semifinal as the first seed.

@PortlandPilots wrote:MTEN: Pilots wrap up sole possession of 1st place with comeback win versus LMU.

http://portlandpilots.com/news/2017/4/22/mens-tennis-pilots-wrap-up-sole-possession-of-1st-place-with-comeback-win-versus-lmu.aspx

This loss to San Diego stings. Winning the regular season championship is a great accomplishment but the tournament is what counts for the NCAA tournament. Hopefully, our record thus far earns us the right to keep playing this season.

SouthCarolinaPilot wrote:Hopefully, our record thus far earns us the right to keep playing this season.

Yeah, that loss is a bummer for sure. If we would have made the finals and lost, maybe we'd have an outside shot, but I think it's pretty much an impossibility now.

The problem is that nearly all the teams ranked ahead of us are from major conferences and only a handful of them will be auto-bids. If somehow lots of the auto-bids from smaller conferences were ranked ahead of us maybe we'd have a shot, but all those major conference teams will gobble up all the at-large spots.

Looks like I was totally wrong about an at-large being an impossibility. Shows what I know about how tennis teams are selected for the tournament.

This guy (who seems to know what he's talking about - much more so than me, anyway) puts us in: http://texascollegetennis.com/2017/05/01/mens-seeds-and-where-the-3-and-4-seeds-may-go/

However, he followed that post up with this one, pointing out that because UW has a head-to-head win over UP, they may end up jumping us for one of the last at-large spots: http://texascollegetennis.com/2017/05/01/where-do-the-2-seeds-go-and-what-about-uw/

We'll find out tomorrow either way... really hoping we can make it!!!

Came in on the wrong side of the bubble. Cheers to a great season by the men's team and to more success in the future! We will return all but one player next season (including all of our guys who won player of the week/all conference awards).

This team isn't done yet.

Today has been a crazy signing day for UP! Probably one of the best in school history across the board. Between an All-American volleyball player and a Top 50 distance runner with the 3rd fastest 3200 time in the country, it seems we may be trending upward! Nowhere has that been more apparent that today when the men's tennis team signed Yoshida, a 4-star recruit just outside the top 100, and Oberg, a 5-star recruit who ranked as high as 33 nationally. Just for reference, Oberg chose UP over ARIZONA and TEXAS.

Yoshida: http://portlandpilots.com/news/2017/11/9/issa-yoshida-signs-nli-with-portland-mens-tennis.aspx

Oberg: http://portlandpilots.com/news/2017/11/8/mens-tennis-signs-five-star-recruit-nicklas-oberg.aspx

SouthCarolinaPilot wrote:Oberg, a 5-star recruit who ranked as high as 33 nationally. Just for reference, Oberg chose UP over ARIZONA and TEXAS.

Oberg: http://portlandpilots.com/news/2017/11/8/mens-tennis-signs-five-star-recruit-nicklas-oberg.aspx

You have to read this story: https://tennisrecruiting.net/article.asp?id=281276033

SouthCarolinaPilot wrote:You have to read this story: https://tennisrecruiting.net/article.asp?id=281276033

My goodness... yes, stop what you are doing right now and read this.

…..and watch this video report on Nick Oberg from KGW:

https://www.kgw.com/video/news/local/portland-pilots-tennis-player-overcomes-brain-tumor/283-3fe4857f-0f35-4072-8d94-059f6eb021cc?jwsource=cl