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VANCOUVER, Wash. — Three three-set singles losses negated a hot start for the Portland State men's tennis team in its dual against Eastern Washington Saturday, as the Vikings dropped a 4-3 decision to the Eagles at Club Green Meadows.
 
The Vikings (5-14, 2-6 Big Sky) posted a dominant doubles-point victory to take an early 1-0 lead against the Eagles (7-10, 3-3 Big Sky), but the Eagles claimed the dual with four wins in the six singles matches, three of with came in three sets.
 
PSU's doubles-point victory came after the Vikings won convincingly at No. 2 and 3 doubles. Junior Alec Marx and senior Abhinav Mishra dominated their match against EWU's Luke Ness and Matt Boyle at No. 3, winning 8-1 for their fourth win in five chances this season. Sophomore Wil Cochrane and freshman Kacper Stelmaszak also earned their fourth win in their last five matches, as they took the final five games of their match against EWU's Eduardo Bringold and Wacil Bendjelt at No. 2 doubles to win 8-3.
 
The Eagles bounced back in singles, however, and the teams engaged in a tight battle throughout the singles lineup. Outside of EWU's Robert Dula's 6-0, 6-2 win over PSU's Brent Wheeler at No. 1, and PSU's Alec Marx's 6-4, 6-2 win over EWU's Luke Nesss at No. 6, every singles match went to three sets. Eastern Washington won three of the four three-set matches, giving the Eagles the dual victory.
 
Bringold beat Cochrane in three sets at No. 3, after the pair split the first two sets by narrow margins. Bringold beat Cochrane in a first-set tiebreaker to take an early lead in the match, only to have Cochrane come back with a tight, 6-4 win in the second set. Bringold handled a tired Cochrane in the third set, however, winning the set 6-0 to take the match 7-6, 4-6, 6-0.
 
Besides Cochrane, PSU sophomore Ian Risenhoover and senior Abhinav Mishra lost their matches at No. 4 and 5 singles respectively, after taking early leads in each of their matches. Both Risenhoover and Mishra won the first set of their matches, only to see their opponent win the next two. Risenhoover beat Bendjelti 6-3 in the first set of his match at No. 4, but Bendjelti came back with back-to-back 6-3 set wins of his own. Mishra, meanwhile, won a back-and-forth first set against EWU's Stefan Farrar, 7-5, but then dropped the next two sets to Farrar, 6-3, 6-4.
 
Stelmaszak was the only Viking to win in three sets Saturday, as he came back from a rocky first set to beat EWU's Luke Thompson, 0-6, 6-3, 7-6 (0) at No. 2. Stelmaszak was leading 5-0 in the third-set tiebreaker when Thompson began to cramp up and was forced to retire.
 
Saturday's loss hurts the Vikings' chances of earning their first-ever berth into the Big Sky Championships. The Vikings can still make the end-of-year tournament, however, if they win out and get some help from other teams losing.
 
The Vikings step out of conference for their next match, as they host Seattle Friday, April 11, at 2 p.m. (PT) at West Hills Racquet and Fitness Club in Portland, Ore.


Eastern Washington University 4, Portland State 3
Apr 05, 2014 at Vancouver, Wash. (Club Green Meadows) 

Singles competition

1. DULA, Robert (EWUM) def. WHEELER, Brent (PSU) 6-0, 6-2

2. STELMASZAK, Kacper (PSU) def. THOMPSON, Luke (EWUM) 0-6, 6-3, 7-6 (5-0), retired

3. BRINGOLD, Eduardo (EWUM) def. COCHRANE, Wil (PSU) 7-6, 4-6, 6-0

4. BENDJELTI, Wacil (EWUM) def. RISENHOOVER, Ian (PSU) 3-6, 6-3, 6-3

5. FARRAR, Stefan (EWUM) def. MISHRA, Abhinav (PSU) 5-7, 6-3, 6-4

6. MARX, Alec (PSU) def. NESS, Luke (EWUM) 6-4, 6-2

Doubles competition

1. WHEELER, Brent/RISENHOOVER, Ian (PSU) vs. DULA, Robert/THOMPSON, Luke (EWUM) 3-7, unfinished

2. STELMASZAK, Kacper/COCHRANE, Wil (PSU) def. BRINGOLD, Eduardo/BENDJELTI, Wacil (EWUM) 8-3

3. MARX, Alec/MISHRA, Abhinav (PSU) def. NESS, Luke/BOYLE, Matt (EWUM) 8-1

Match Notes

Eastern Washington University 7-10, 3-3 BSC

Portland State 5-14, 2-6 BSC