RESULTS

SPOKANE, Wash. — Sophomore Ethan Lopez and juniors Ian Risenhoover and Wil Cochrane all advanced to the semifinals of their respective singles draws with a pair of wins at the Gonzaga Fall Tournament Saturday, leading the Portland State men's tennis team to a banner day in singles.
 
Lopez kicked off the Vikings' strong day with an upset of second-seeded Nick Kamisar of Gonzaga in the second round of the top singles flight. Kamisar, who finished last season ranked 20th in the ITA Northwest Region, took the first set from Lopez, 6-3, in the match, but Lopez rallied to pull out a pair of close wins in the second and third sets to pull out the upset 3-6, 6-4, 6-4.
 
Lopez had little time to celebrate the win, however, as he faced Montana State's Andre Napolitano in the quarterfinals later in the day Saturday. Lopez played a solid first-set tiebreaker against Napolitano to take an early lead in their match, but then saw Napolitano take the second set, 6-3, to even the match going into the third. Lopez jumped out to an early lead in the third, though, and was leading 4-2 in the third when Napolitano was forced to retire from the match due to injury.
 
Lopez will now face Idaho's Felipe Fonseca in the semifinals Sunday at 10:30 a.m. (PT). Fonseca advanced to the semifinals after upsetting third-seeded Steffen Dierauf in the quarterfinals Saturday. If Lopez can beat Fonseca, then he'll advance to the championship match at 1 p.m. (PT) Sunday.
 
Cochrane and Risenhoover, meanwhile, each advanced to the semifinals of the lower singles flight with a pair of wins Saturday. Cochrane beat Montana's Tom Witteveen in straight sets in the second round to open the day, then faced a familiar face in the quarterfinals in teammate Matt Pronesti. Pronesti advanced to the quarters after a 6-0, 7-5 win over Seattle University's Connor Leahy earlier in the day, but couldn't match Cochrane in the quarterfinals, as Cochrane won in straight sets to advance to the semifinals with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Pronesti.
 
Cochrane will face another teammate in the semifinals, as he'll face Risenhoover on the opposite side of the net Sunday after Risenhoover won both his matches Saturday. Risenhoover, the fifth seed in the lower singles flight, opened Saturday with a 6-4, 6-2 over Montana's Peter Szentes in the second round, then beat Idaho's Rhys Richardson in three sets, 6-4, 4-6, 6-2.
 
Cochrane and Risenhoover will face off against each other in the semifinals at 10:30 a.m. (PT). Either way, the Vikings are assured of having one player in the championship match of the lower singles flight, which will be played at 1 p.m. (PT) Sunday.
 
The Vikings' did not have as much luck in doubles Saturday, however, as the Vikings' two remaining teams in the main doubles draw each lost their quarterfinal matches in tiebreakers. Pronesti and senior Stuart Tierney lost a heartbreaking tiebreaker, 7-5, to Montana State's Niklas Brandes and Harry James to lose their match 8-7 (5). Cochrane and Risenhoover didn't have any better luck in their quarterfinal match, either, as they lost a tiebreaker, 7-3, to the University of Portland's Mathieu Garcia and Pierre Garcia to drop their match 8-7 (3).
 
Senior Stuart Tierney was also in action in the top singles flight Saturday, and advanced to the quarterfinals with a 6-1, 7-6 win over the University of Portland's Jared Madison in the second round.
 
Tierney then faced top-seeded Alvaro Nazal of Gonzaga in the quarterfinals, and rallied to win a dramatic second-set tiebreaker to send the match into a third set after falling behind early. Tierney went all out to win the second-set tiebreaker over Nazal, beating him 16-14 in the breaker to level the match. Nazal rebounded from the marathon tiebreaker better than Tierney, however, as Nazal beat Tierney 6-0 in the decisive third set to win the match 6-2, 6-7 (14-16) and 6-0.
 
Senior Brent Wheeler also faced off against Montana State's James in the first round of the top singles flight back draw, and lost in straight sets, 6-1, 6-4.
 
Sophomores Jonathan Pike and Nacor Ibanez also lost their first round matches of the lower singles flight back draw Saturday, with Pike falling 6-4, 6-1 to Seattle University's Anatliy Beynars, and Ibanez falling 6-1, 6-4 to Montana State's Dylan Harvala.
 
The Vikings also had two teams competing in the doubles back draw Saturday, with Ibanez and Pike advancing to the quarterfinals of the back draw with a 6-4 win over Seattle University's Beynars and Ian Clare. Ibanez and Pike fell by the same score in their quarterfinal match against Eastern Washington's Eduardo Bringold and Wacil Bendjelti, however, eliminating them from the draw.
 
Lopez and Cochrane also lost to Bringold and Bendjelti earlier in the day, as they fell 6-4 to Bringold and Bendjelti in the first round of the doubles back draw.