PORTLAND, Ore. — The Portland State men's tennis team opens its 2014 dual season, its first under head coach Toby Krauel, with a pair of matches this weekend.
 
The team begins with a road match against No. 52 Oregon Friday at 10 a.m. (PT) in Eugene, then host Big Sky rival Eastern Washington Saturday at 5:30 p.m. (PT) in a non-conference match at West Hills Racket and Fitness Club in Portland.
 
"The important thing for me to see is we're prepared to go out and compete this weekend," Krauel said. "My guys improved greatly in the fall. They worked hard and I'm proud of their accomplishments.
 
"Obviously, it's tough, opening against Oregon, a Pac-12 school and then turning right around and having a non-conference match against a regional rival in Eastern Washington. The guys are enthusiastic, though, and ready to get after it."
 
MATCH SPECIFICS:
Friday, Jan. 17 – 10 a.m. (PT) – at No. 52 Oregon – Eugene, Ore. (Student Tennis Center)
Saturday, Jan. 18 – 5:30 p.m. (PT) – vs. Eastern Washington – Portland, Ore. (West Hills Racket and Fitness Club)
 
LIVE STATS:
A link to live stats for the Vikings' match against Oregon will be available on the men's tennis schedule page on GoViks.com just before match time.
 
ABOUT OREGON:
The 52nd-ranked Ducks are coming off a record-breaking season last year, when they recorded 16 wins, beat Stanford for the first time in program history and achieved its best-ever national ITA ranking at No. 33. The Ducks opened last dual season against the Vikings, beating them 7-0 in Eugene. Three of the Ducks' six singles players from that match return to the team this season. Of the team's returners, senior Robin Cambier stands eight wins shy of becoming the program's winningest singles player of all time.
 
ABOUT EASTERN WASHINGTON:
The Eastern Washington Eagles beat the Vikings 4-3 on the road in their match last season. The Vikings won two of the three doubles matches to earn the doubles point, but then lost the first three singles matches and four of the first five. The Eagles lost four letterwinners from that team, however, and have seven newcomers on its 10-man roster this season. The Eagles' match Saturday against the Vikings will be their third straight to open the season. The Eagles play at Willamette Thursday and at Oregon on Friday before playing the Vikings.
 
COMING UP:
The Vikings have a week off after their matches this weekend before returning to action with a home match against Idaho on Sunday, Feb. 2. The Vikings and the Vandals will begin the match at 10 a.m. (PT) at Club Green Meadows in Vancouver, Wash.
 
RETURNERS:
The Vikings return five letterwinners from last season's team in Wil Cochrane, Alec Marx, Abhinav Mishra, Ian Risenhoover and Brent Wheeler, and also return 2011-12 letterwinner Nate Chart. Of the returning letterwinners, Marx had the best singles record in 2013, going 4-1 in Big Sky matches (2-0 at No. 4, 2-1 at No. 6). Additionally, sophomore Ian Risenhoover went 9-2 in doubles with No. 1 singles player Antoine Bechmann last season. Risnehoover and Bechmann went 8-1 at No. 2 doubles in 2013, and went 5-1 in Big Sky doubles matches.
 
2013 SEASON RECAP:
The Portland State Vikings went 9-12 overall and 3-7 in the Big Sky Conference during the 2013 dual season. The season marked a seven-win improvement over the program's 2012 dual season, when the Vikings went 2-17 overall and 0-8 in the Big Sky. Additionally, the Vikings won 7-0 over two Big Sky teams in 2013, sweeping past North Dakota on March 13 and Southern Utah on April 19.
 
COACH KRAUEL'S DEBUT SEASON:
Toby Krauel became the Portland State men's tennis program's first exclusive head coach when he was hired in Sept. 2013. Krauel comes to the Vikings with experience building programs at both the NCAA Division I and III levels. Krauel coached Gonzaga University from 1993-2000 and led the Bulldogs to their best seasons in program history. Krauel then led another program turnaround at Willamette University, serving as the Bearcats' head coach from 2008-12. Willamette qualified for its conference tournament three of the four seasons Krauel coached at the school, and made the tournament finals in 2011, when he led the team to an 11-1 conference record.