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DALLAS (SMU) - SMU men's tennis improved to 7-1 on the season with a win over Oklahoma Baptist and a thrilling 4-3 victory over Portland i on Saturday at the SMU Tennis Complex.
 
After taking down Oklahoma Baptist, 6-1, in the morning match, the Mustangs faced a tough test against the unbeaten Portland Pilots. With the Mustangs taking doubles and the Pilots winning three-of-five singles, it all came down to junior Tomas Vaise, locked in a tight third set on line three.
 
Vaise quickly jumped out to a 5-1 lead before Portland began to battle back to 5-4.  Vaise capped off the sweep, by winning the final game before being mobbed by the Mustangs.
 
The Morning match featured the Mustangs cruising through doubles against Oklahoma Baptist. Gardiner Perotti and Jordi Redelijk combined to win 6-1 on No. 3 while Vaise and Huntley Allen took care of business 6-2.
 
Perotti continued his hot play into singles with a speedy, 6-1, 6-2 win. Caleb Chakravarthi earned a line one straight-set victory while Ethan Leon and Vaise did the same. Eddie Ross gutted out a big win, 6-4, 7-6, finishing it off in a second-set tiebreaker. Jose Juan Bianchi came out on the wrong end of two tiebreakers, 7-6, 0-6, 1-0 (9).
 
In the 3 p.m. matchup, the Mustangs earned what would turn out to be critical double point behind a 6-1 win from Bianchi and Carles Sarrio and a come-from-behind victory for Allen and Vaise.
 
Before Vaise's winner-take-all match, Portland took a brief lead thanks to wins over Leon and Allen. Carles Sarrio tied it up on No. 2, 6-3, 6-4 followed by Redelijk putting SMU in front, 3-2, with a pair of 6-4 sets. Chakravarthi nearly pulled off an incredible comeback on line one. After dropping set one and trailing in the second, the junior transfer rallied back in a tiebreaker to force a third. Portland would take the back-and-forth final set, 6-4.
 
With the victories, SMU moves to 7-1, their best start since 2015 and their fifth 7-1 start in the last 25 season.  Just 17 days into the season, SMU is five wins away from its 2019 season total.
 
The 4-3 victory ended a perfect 4-0 day for tennis on the Hilltop after the women's program swept its home opener.
 
Next up, The Mustangs head to Virginia to take on Old Dominion on Feb. 7. The team also faces Nebraska in a neutral site match in Norfolk, Va. slated for Feb. 8.