Friday, February 6
Seattle, Wash.
4:00 PM
University of Washington
4
vs
3
Portland
Photo by: Washington Athletics
Huskies Respond With Dominate Win Over Portland
February 06, 2026 | Men's Tennis
UW - 4, UP - 3
SEATTLE – Washington emerges victorious for the 61st straight attempt over the Portland Pilots on Friday night by a score of 4-3. The Dawgs are now 4-2 on the season and 1-0 on this weekend's slate of northwest matchups. As they play this Sunday at 11am, well before the big game, against the Bulldogs of Gonzaga University back at the Nordstrom Tennis Center.
The Huskies were without No. 3 mainstay Rohan Belday (illness) on Friday night. His absence, while missed, did little to effect the determination of this young Huskies squad. As in Doubles freshman Daniel Bien was shown to be a suitable stand-in for Belday for fellow freshman Hyeonseok Seo. The pair would go on to finish first on the Doubles card, with a commanding 6-1 win over Portland's Binder & Kimelman. The Doubles point would be earned soon after by way of Stephane Kamendje & Nikola Plavsic's impressive dismantling of the Pilots' No. 2 duo of Garcia/Skobelev, 6-2.
In Singles, Nikola Plavsic made his first start of the dual season, continuing where he left off in Doubles with a 6-1, 6-2 sweep of the Pilot's No. 6 Tannor Binder. The Huskies played up a position in Singles with the regular No. 3 starter sidelined for the evening.
This increase in positioning did little to hamper the spirits of the Huskies as, after a bit of a slow start, the Dawgs rallied back from early set one deficits to come back and win five of the six games in set one. "that's the essence of Sports, we look at it as not a negative, but an opportunity for guys to step up in different roles and positions.", said Head Coach Rahim Esmail of the situation.
Set two is where the Dawgs shown brightest, winning the three matches needed to clinch the victory; as the match was clinched 4-1 in set two by 121st ranked player Soham Purohit's tie break win 7-6(3) over Nikola Keremedchiev.
Coach Esmail had this to say of his teams effort tonight, "…looking back at what our Goals were for the match, from what we set out, we met those…with being a young team working on those situations, to close out close matches and situations."
The Dawgs will have the night off tomorrow before off before they will be back-in-action Sunday February 8th against the Gonzaga Bulldogs. The Huskies will look to improve their impressive 4-2 record against fellow PNW rival, Gonzaga University. The Huskies are 20-0 all-time against the 'Zags, with this meeting being the 21st meeting between the universities. Gonzaga returns to Seattle with a 1-2 dual record so far in 2026.
For more information on the UW Men's Tennis Team, download the GoHuskies app, and follow @UW_MTennis on X and Instagram!
Washington Men's Tennis
February 6, 2026
Seattle, Wash. | Nordstrom Tennis Center | 4:00 PM PT
Washington – 4
Portland – 3
Singles
1. (#121) Soham Purohit (UW) vs. Nikola Keremedchiev (UP) – 6-4, 7-6(3).
2. Stephane Kamendje (UW) vs. Tom Garcia (UP) – 6-4, 6-1.
3. Brett Pearson (UW) vs. Cade Fernando (UP) – 8-6 (7), 3-6, 3-6.
4. Hyeonseok Seo (UW) vs. Stefan Skobelev (UP) – 7-6 (6), 6-7(4), 4-6.
5. Daniel Bien (UW) vs. Lucas Kimelman (UP) – 5-7, 3-6.
6. Nikola Plavsic (UW) vs. Tannor Binder (UP) – 6-1, 6-2.
Order of Finish: 2, 6, 5, 1, 4, 3.
Doubles
1. (#63) Pearson/Purohit (UW) vs. Keremedchiev/Fernando (UP) – 2-5 (DNF).
2. Kamendje/Plasvic (UW) def. Garcia/Skobelev (UP) – 6-2.
3. Bien/Seo (UW) def. Binder/Kimelman (UP) – 6-1.
Order of Finish: 3, 2.
Match Notes (prior to match):
Washington (3-2)
Portland (2-3)
61st meeting – UW leads 60-0
Rohan Belday – Out (Illness)
The Huskies were without No. 3 mainstay Rohan Belday (illness) on Friday night. His absence, while missed, did little to effect the determination of this young Huskies squad. As in Doubles freshman Daniel Bien was shown to be a suitable stand-in for Belday for fellow freshman Hyeonseok Seo. The pair would go on to finish first on the Doubles card, with a commanding 6-1 win over Portland's Binder & Kimelman. The Doubles point would be earned soon after by way of Stephane Kamendje & Nikola Plavsic's impressive dismantling of the Pilots' No. 2 duo of Garcia/Skobelev, 6-2.
?????????????? ?????????? ????????????!
— Washington Men's Tennis (@UW_MTennis) February 7, 2026
Doubles Set W??
Sophomores Stephane Kamendje & Nikola Plavsic ? 6-2#Bowdown x #GoHuskies???? pic.twitter.com/Fz0iXLzbsP
In Singles, Nikola Plavsic made his first start of the dual season, continuing where he left off in Doubles with a 6-1, 6-2 sweep of the Pilot's No. 6 Tannor Binder. The Huskies played up a position in Singles with the regular No. 3 starter sidelined for the evening.
?????????????? ?????????? ????????????!
— Washington Men's Tennis (@UW_MTennis) February 7, 2026
Nikola wins Set 2, 6-2 ??
+1 Huskies
UW - 3, UP - 0#Bowdown x #GoHuskies???? pic.twitter.com/DQStimVG8W
This increase in positioning did little to hamper the spirits of the Huskies as, after a bit of a slow start, the Dawgs rallied back from early set one deficits to come back and win five of the six games in set one. "that's the essence of Sports, we look at it as not a negative, but an opportunity for guys to step up in different roles and positions.", said Head Coach Rahim Esmail of the situation.
Set two is where the Dawgs shown brightest, winning the three matches needed to clinch the victory; as the match was clinched 4-1 in set two by 121st ranked player Soham Purohit's tie break win 7-6(3) over Nikola Keremedchiev.
?????????????? ?????????? ????????????!
— Washington Men's Tennis (@UW_MTennis) February 7, 2026
Soham wins Set 2, 7-6(3) ??
+1 Huskies
UW - 4, UP - 1#Bowdown x #GoHuskies???? pic.twitter.com/FK0pQ2Zg29
Coach Esmail had this to say of his teams effort tonight, "…looking back at what our Goals were for the match, from what we set out, we met those…with being a young team working on those situations, to close out close matches and situations."
The Dawgs will have the night off tomorrow before off before they will be back-in-action Sunday February 8th against the Gonzaga Bulldogs. The Huskies will look to improve their impressive 4-2 record against fellow PNW rival, Gonzaga University. The Huskies are 20-0 all-time against the 'Zags, with this meeting being the 21st meeting between the universities. Gonzaga returns to Seattle with a 1-2 dual record so far in 2026.
For more information on the UW Men's Tennis Team, download the GoHuskies app, and follow @UW_MTennis on X and Instagram!
Washington Men's Tennis
February 6, 2026
Seattle, Wash. | Nordstrom Tennis Center | 4:00 PM PT
Washington – 4
Portland – 3
Singles
1. (#121) Soham Purohit (UW) vs. Nikola Keremedchiev (UP) – 6-4, 7-6(3).
2. Stephane Kamendje (UW) vs. Tom Garcia (UP) – 6-4, 6-1.
3. Brett Pearson (UW) vs. Cade Fernando (UP) – 8-6 (7), 3-6, 3-6.
4. Hyeonseok Seo (UW) vs. Stefan Skobelev (UP) – 7-6 (6), 6-7(4), 4-6.
5. Daniel Bien (UW) vs. Lucas Kimelman (UP) – 5-7, 3-6.
6. Nikola Plavsic (UW) vs. Tannor Binder (UP) – 6-1, 6-2.
Order of Finish: 2, 6, 5, 1, 4, 3.
Doubles
1. (#63) Pearson/Purohit (UW) vs. Keremedchiev/Fernando (UP) – 2-5 (DNF).
2. Kamendje/Plasvic (UW) def. Garcia/Skobelev (UP) – 6-2.
3. Bien/Seo (UW) def. Binder/Kimelman (UP) – 6-1.
Order of Finish: 3, 2.
Match Notes (prior to match):
Washington (3-2)
Portland (2-3)
61st meeting – UW leads 60-0
Rohan Belday – Out (Illness)
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
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