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Kent Mueller - Portland 1-31-2026
3
Portland UP (2-3)
4
Winner Hawaii UH (2-3)
Portland UP
(2-3)
3
Final
4
Hawaii UH
(2-3)
Winner

Match Recap: Men's Tennis |

Men's Tennis Holds Off Portland

HONOLULU–The University of Hawai'i men's tennis team (2-3) closed out their season opening homestand with a 4-3 victory over Portland (2-3) on Saturday afternoon at the UH Tennis Complex. Freshman Kent Mueller clinched the match with a come-from-behind, three-set win which claimed Hawai'i's second victory of the season.

For the second-straight match and third time this season, the Rainbow Warriors captured the doubles point to start the match with a 1-0 lead. After dropping the No. 1 match, UH rallied with their No. 2 team of Toa Maeda and Azuma Visaya knocking off Tom Garcia and Stefan Skobelev, 6-2 and on the No. 3 court, UH's Kent Mueller and Adriano Dzhenev seized the point with a 6-3 win over Tannor Binder and Elijah Noel.

In singles, UH's No. 6, Dzhenev bolted out for a swift sweep of Portland's Elijah Noel in straight sets, 6-1, 6-4 to give UH a 2-0 lead. But the Pilots' Cade Fernandez cut Hawai'i's lead in half at to 2-1 with a 6-2, 6-0 win over Kosuke Nakanishi on the No. 3 court.

Hawai'i's No. 1 Visaya followed by defeating UP's Nikola Keremedchev in straight sets, 6-0, 6-3 and then on the No. 4 court, UH's Mueller clinched the match holding off Portland's Binder in three. Mueller was clutch down the stretch, winning four of the last five games in the third and deciding set to record a 2-6, 6-2, 7-5.

The Pilots ended up closing the gap, posting wins on the No. 2 and No. 5 courts. UH's Timothy Li won a tough first set which finished in an 8-6 tie-breaker, but then fell in the final two sets as UP's Garcia pulled off the three-set win, 6-7 (7-9), 6-1, 6-4. UH's, Maeda was locked in a tight battle with Gian Manhas on the No. 5 court. Manhas edged out Maeda in a first set tiebreaker, but Maeda evened things by winning the second set by a break. But Manhas edged out Maeda in a third set super-tie-breaker, 7-6 (8-6), 4-6, 1-0 (10-7).

The Rainbow Warriors will head off on their first roadtrip of the Spring to face UC Riverside in its Big West opener on Wednesday, Feb. 11th. The 'Bows will then travel to Arizona to take on Northern Arizona on Saturday, Feb. 14th and Grand Canyon on Sunday, Feb. 15th both in Phoenix.

Hawaii 4, Portland 3
Jan 31, 2026 at Honolulu, O'ahu
(UH Tennis Complex)

Singles competition
1. Azuma Visaya (UH) def. Nikola Keremedchiev (UP) 6-0, 6-3
2. Tom Garcia (UP) def. Timothy Li (UH) 6-7 (7-9), 6-1, 6-4
3. Cade Fernando (UP) def. Kosuke Nakanishi (UH) 6-2, 6-0
4. Kent Mueller (UH) def. Tanner Binder (UP) 2-6, 6-2, 7-5
5. Gian Manhas (UP) def. Toa Maeda (UH) 7-6 (8-6), 4-6, 1-0 (10-7)
6. Adriano Dzhenev (UH) def. Eli Noel (UP) 6-1, 6-4

Doubles competition
1. Nikola Keremedchiev/Cade Fernando (UP) def. Timothy Li/Kosuke Nakanishi (UH) 6-0
2. Toa Maeda/Azuma Visaya (UH) def. Tom Garcia/Stefan Skobelev (UP) 6-2
3. Kent Mueller/Adriano Dzhenev (UH) def. Tanner Binder/Eli Noel (UP) 6-3

Match Notes:
Portland 2-3
Hawaii 2-3
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (6,3,1,4,2,5)
 
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