Complete match notes (PDF)

PORTLAND, Ore. — At 2-3 in Big Sky play after their loss to Northern Colorado last weekend, the Portland State Vikings men's tennis team (5-5, 2-3 Big Sky) face a critical road trip to Idaho State and Weber State this weekend. The Vikings play the Bengals in Pocatello, Idaho, at 3 p.m. (MT) Friday, then travel to face the Wildcats at 12 p.m. (MT) Saturday in Ogden, Utah.
 
The Vikings currently stand sixth in the Big Sky standings, right on the tipping point of qualifying for their first ever berth into the Big Sky Tournament. The top six teams will make the tournament, and the Vikings currently lead the two teams tied for seventh (Eastern Washington and Idaho State at 1-2) by just .067 percentage points.
 
Weber State also ranks right ahead of the Vikings at 1-1 in Big Sky play so far this season, making this weekend's set of matches extremely important as far as the Vikings' hopes of making the conference tournament are concerned.
 
SCOUTING IDAHO STATE:
The Idaho State Bengals (1-3, 1-2 Big Sky) enter their match against the Vikings on Friday after beating Eastern Washington 4-3 in their home opener last Saturday. That win followed three losses to open the season for the Bengals, as they lost 7-0 to Utah on Feb. 21, and then lost 6-1 to both Montana State and Montana the week after. The Bengals' lone point against Montana came as they took the doubles point off the Grizzlies, while the Bengals also won what proved to be a decisive doubles point against the Eagles last weekend. As a result, the Bengals take a 2-2 record in doubles into their match against the Vikings, who have been a strong doubles team in their own right this season. The top half of the Bengals' singles lineup also swept their matches against the Eagles last Saturday, leading the Bengals to their first victory of the season. Sophomore Daniel Loebel has played at line one singles for the Bengals in their last three matches, while senior Krzysztof Stempien, an All-Big Sky second-team selection, has played at line two. Sophomore Bjorn Scheepbouwer, meanwhile, has played all four matches for the Bengals at line three. The Bengals have changed things up at the other three singles positions throughout the season.
 
ALL-TIME SERIES VERSUS IDAHO STATE:
The Vikings are 3-8 all-time against Idaho State, and 1-7 on the road. The Vikings won three straight against the Bengals from 2009-11, but have lost three straight in the series since then.
 
SCOUTING WEBER STATE:
The Weber State Wildcats (6-8, 1-1 Big Sky) stand 1-1 in Big Sky play as they try to defend their Big Sky regular-season crown from last season. The Wildcats lost 4-3 to Sacramento State on the road on Feb. 27, which was their first Big Sky loss since 2013, as they went a perfect 10-0 in conference play last season. The Wildcats bounced back with a 6-1 win at home over Eastern Washington last Sunday, however, continuing a strong start to the season for the Wildcats at home. The Wildcats are 5-2 on their home court in 2015, and will take a four-match home winning streak into their match against North Dakota Friday. Individually, the Wildcats return a lot of the players that led them to the Big Sky regular-season title last season. Juniors Jakub Gewert and Todd Fought each return after earning All-Big Sky first-team honors last season, while junior Sanjay Goswami returns after being named an All-Big Sky honorable mention. Gewert has split time at line one with freshman Stefan Cooper this season, while Fought and Cooper have also split time at line two. Overall, the Wildcats have been stronger in singles than they have been in doubles this season, as they are 45-34 (.570) combined as a team in singles in 2015, but just 13-23 (.361) in doubles. Additionally, the Wildcats have won the doubles point in just four of their 14 matches this season, but have won three or more singles matches in nine matches.
 
ALL-TIME SERIES VERSUS WEBER STATE:
The Vikings have never beaten the Wildcats, having lost all 12 of their previous matches against Weber State. The Vikings came close to a victory last season, when they split their six singles matches against the Wildcats, but lost 4-3 at home on the back of a doubles-point loss. The Vikings have also lost 4-3 two other times in their series against the Wildcats, as they also lost 4-3 on the road in 2009 and 2011.
 
VIKINGS CRUISE PAST COLORADO COLLEGE, LOSE HEARTBREAKER TO NORTHERN COLORADO:
The Vikings split a weekend trip to Colorado last weekend, beating Colorado College 6-1 on Friday, before losing a heartbreaker to Northern Colorado, 4-3, on Saturday. The Vikings swept all three doubles matches against Colorado College to open the weekend, and then won five of the six singles matches to wrap up the 6-1 win. The Vikings also won the doubles point against the Bears on Saturday, but then lost four of the six singles matches to fall, 4-3. The Vikings lost the matches at the top four singles positions against the Bears, including a pair of tight matches at lines one and two.
 
LOOKING AHEAD:
The Vikings head to Las Vegas, Nev., for three neutral-site matches over spring break. The Vikings face Scottsdale Community College on March 23, Grand Canyon University on March 24, and Seattle on March 25.
 
TOUGH SCHEDULE:
The Vikings enter the third week of a six-week road trip this weekend, as they face a difficult schedule while pursuing their first ever berth into the Big Sky Tournament at the end of the season. The Vikings are 2-1 on their road trip so far, having beaten North Dakota and Colorado College before losing to Northern Colorado in their last match. Before heading out on the road, the Vikings hosted three straight matches against teams picked to contend for the conference title in Idaho, Montana State and Montana. The Vikings will next play three straight neutral-site matches against Scottsdale Community College (March 23), Grand Canyon (March 24) and Seattle (March 25) in Las Vegas, Nev., before returning home for a match against Eastern Washington at Club Green Meadows on April 3.
 
DOUBLE, DOUBLE, TOIL AND…TRIUMPH:
The Vikings have been an exceptional doubles team so far this season, as they've won the doubles point in eight of their 10 matches already, including all five of their conference matches. The only matches the Vikings have lost the doubles point in came against then-No. 64 Washington in their season opener, and against the University of Portland on Feb. 14. All three of the Vikings' regular doubles teams have winning records as well, led by senior Stuart Tierney and junior Ian Risenhoover, who have a 10-4 overall record together this season, and a 6-4 record at line one. Sophomore Ethan Lopez and junior Brent Wheeler also lead the team with a 4-1 record together in Big Sky matches, and stand at 7-4 overall this season. Juniors Matt Pronesti and Wil Cochrane, meanwhile, have won three matches in a row together, and have a 10-5 record overall together, and a 6-4 record at line two.
 
RECORD SETTERS:
A number of Vikings have put themselves on the verge of breaking single-season records at Portland State this season. Junior Wil Cochrane will tie the school record for single-season wins at line five with one more win, while fellow junior Matt Pronesti needs three more wins to tie the school record for single-season wins at line four. Cochrane and sophomore Ethan Lopez also each currently have win percentages of .600 at 6-4 in dual play this season, which would rank them tied for third on the single-season list if the season ended today. Additionally, Lopez and junior Brent Wheeler each rank four wins behind the record of 10 wins at line three in doubles. Junior Ian Risenhoover, meanwhile, now has 25 wins in his Portland State doubles career, ranking him tied for fifth all-time and seven wins behind all-time leader Alex VanDerschelden, who had 32 career wins from 2008-11.
 
VIKINGS SWEEP SINGLES, DOUBLES TITLES AT CORVALLIS INDOOR TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIPS:
The Vikings had one of the most dominant weekends in program history last weekend, as they swept the singles and doubles titles at the Corvallis Indoor Tennis Championships. The Vikings' Matt Pronesti won the singles title at the tournament, while Stuart Tierney and Ian Risenhoover won the doubles title. The Vikings played well throughout the draw, though, as they claimed three of the four semifinals spots in both the singles and doubles draws, and claimed five of the eight quarterfinal spots in the singles draw. Additionally, the Vikings had two players reach the final, as junior Brent Wheeler made the championship match opposite Pronesti.
 
INFLUX OF TRANSFERS:
The Vikings will enter the 2015 dual season with four newcomers, all of whom came to the Vikings as transfers during the summer. Senior Stuart Tierney and sophomore Nacor Ibanez each came to the Vikings from Lipscomb University, while junior Matt Pronesti and sophomore Ethan Lopez joined the Vikings from Merrimack College and Fresno State, respectively. For Tierney and Pronesti, their transfer to Portland State marks a return to the state of Oregon for each of them, as Tierney hails from Hillsboro, Ore., while Pronesti grew up in Medford, Ore., and played junior doubles tournaments with his new Portland State teammate Wil Cochrane.
 
A TEAM FULL OF OREGONIANS:
With senior Stuart Tierney and junior Matt Pronesti joining the Vikings as transfers over the summer, the Vikings now have five native Oregonians on their roster for the 2015 dual season. Tierney grew up in Hillsboro before joining the Vikings, while Pronesti grew up in Medford, near where junior Wil Cochrane grew up in Ashland. Besides them, junior Brent Wheeler came to the Vikings out of Salem, Ore., while junior Ian Risenhoover grew up in Tualatin, Ore., and went to high school in West Linn.
 
FALL SEASON RECAP:
The Vikings' four newcomers helped the team post a standout fall season in 2014, as the Vikings posted a 25-30 combined singles record and 13-12 combined doubles record over three tournaments in the fall. The highlight of the fall came in the team's final tournament of the season, as juniors Wil Cochrane and Matt Pronesti won the second flight of the main doubles draw at the PNW Intercollegiates in November, the first main draw doubles title by a Viking team since 2010. Additionally, five players finished with .500 records in singles or better during the fall, while four players had winning records.