FULL BOX SCORE

EUGENE, Ore. – Junior Antoine Bechmann led his opponent 4-1 twice during his match at spot No. 1 during singles play, but let the contest get away from him as the Portland State Vikings came up short at No. 71 Oregon in Eugene, Ore., Saturday morning. The Viks fell to the Ducks by a final score of 7-0 in the dual meet. 
 
Bechmann by the event's end had commanded the attention of players and fans, as the junior was doing his best to upset Portland, Ore., native, Alex Rovello, after dropping a close first set 7-5. The newcomer from Strasbourg, France, for the second time in the match, jumped out to a 4-1 advantage, however Rovello chipped away at the lead. Despite a tight battle in the second set, Bechmann eventually fell to his Oregon counterpart, with a final score of 7-5, 6-4.
 
“We're happy with the way Antoine played today,” Portland State tennis assistant coach, Angelo Niculescu said. “This was his first dual match here with our program and this was possibly the best I've seen him play.”
 
Doubles play kicked off the match as Portland State had its first chance to see new additions Connor Gilmore and Stratton Gilmore who formed the Viks' first doubles pairing. The duo struggled against the Ducks' No. 1 pairing of Daniel Sardu and Aaron Clissold, losing to the Oregon tandem, 8-2.
 
Teammates Abhinav Mishra and Brent Wheeler suffered a similar fate in their match from the No. 2 position as Daan Maasland and Rovello dispatched the Viks team, 8-1.
 
The No. 3 position saw a much closer match as the team of Bechmann and freshman Ian Risenhoover hung tough with Lova Randriamampandry and Michael Schaeffer, pushing the Ducks' pairing, but eventually falling, 8-5.
 
In singles play Connor Gilmore and Stratton Gilmore played from the No. 2 and No. 3 spots, respectively as they lost to Maasland and Sardu, by indentical 6-2, 6-1 scores.
 
Wheeler, who played from the No. 4 position against Brent Chin, was downed, 6-3, 6-0.  Meanwhile teammates Mishra and Risenhoover played Clissold and Schaeffer in the No. 5 and No. 6 spots, respectively, and lost by identical 6-3, 6-0 scores to round out singles play.

The Portland State men's team is tentatively scheduled for a match at Gonzaga on Jan. 26 and will play its first home match the following afternoon against Willamette at Club Green Meadows in Vancouver, Wash. Match time is slated for 1 p.m.