Complete match notes (PDF)

PORTLAND, Ore. — The Portland State men's tennis team (5-7) heads to Las Vegas, Nev., for a trio of neutral-site games over spring break. The Vikings play Mesa Community College Monday, then play Grand Canyon and Seattle on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively. All three matches will start at 9 a.m. (PT) at the Darling Tennis Center.
 
SCOUTING MESA COMMUNITY COLLEGE:
The Mesa Community College Thunderbirds (5-0) have had a strong start to their 2015 season, winning four of their first five matches by scores of 8-1 or 9-0. All four of those wins have come over fellow community college or junior colleges, but the Thunderbirds also beat NCAA Division II Colorado State Pueblo earlier this season. Individually, five of the team's eight players are freshmen this season, including three from the Arizona area.
 
ALL-TIME SERIES VERSUS MESA COMMUNITY COLLEGE:
This will be the first ever meeting between Mesa CC and Portland State.
 
SCOUTING GRAND CANYON:
The Grand Canyon Lopes (4-7), in their second year competing at the Division I level in the Western Athletic Conference, have fared well against a difficult schedule so far this season, as they've played three teams ranked in the ITA national rankings at the time of their match. Individually, the Lopes have a deep and very international roster, with 11 of their 13 players listing their hometowns outside of the United States. Of the Lopes' 11 internationally born players, five come from France, while another three come from Spain. Junior Felix Schueller, who hails from Amstetten, Austria, has played the majority of the team's matches at line one singles, and takes a 5-3 record at the position into the team's matches in Las Vegas. Behind him, fellow junior Alexander Roggenkamp, who comes from Hamburg, Germany, has been the Lopes' most consistent player at line two, as he has a 4-3 mark at the position. Sophomore Adrian Legarreta, however, has the best singles mark on the team so far, as he has gone 7-3 in singles so far this season, including a 7-1 mark at line three. Meanwhile, the Lopes have been an up-and-down team in doubles so far this season, as they have won the doubles point in just five of their 11 matches so far. Doubles success has usually been a harbinger of overall success for the Lopes, however, as the team is 4-1 when winning the doubles point in matches this season. Junior Meidy Chazeau and sophomore Gregoire Balenci have been the Lopes' standout doubles team so far, as they have a 5-2 record together at line three.
 
ALL-TIME SERIES VERSUS GRAND CANYON:
The Vikings have played the Lopes just once before, as they beat them 7-0 in 2009, back when the Lopes competed in NCAA Division II. The Vikings won that match on the road.
 
SCOUTING SEATTLE:
The Seattle Redhawks (2-11) have had a tough start to their 2015 season, and will take a six-match losing streak into their matches in Las Vegas next week. The Redhawks have had their most success against Big Sky schools, however, as both of their wins have come over Big Sky schools in Eastern Washington and Northern Colorado. The Redhawks also played close matches against Montana State and Idaho, but lost 4-3 to the Bobcats, and 5-2 to the Vandals. Individually, the Redhawks return a lot of players from their 2014 team that beat the Vikings 6-1 last season, a loss that snapped a five-match win streak for the Vikings in their series against the Redhawks. The Redhawks only lost two seniors off that team, and added three newcomers in Matt Alderson, Tanner Berkabile and John Stormans.
 
ALL-TIME SERIES VERSUS SEATTLE:
The Vikings lead the all-time series with the Redhawks, 5-2, but had their five-match win streak snapped last season, when the Redhawks beat them, 6-1. All seven of the Vikings' previous matches against the Redhawks have been at home, making Wednesday's match the first neutral or away match in the series for the Vikings.
 
VIKINGS FALL IN TIGHT MATCH TO IDAHO STATE, SWEPT BY WEBER STATE:
The Vikings lost a heartbreaker to Idaho State to open a tough weekend on the road in Big Sky play. The Viking lost 4-3 to the Bengals last Friday, and then followed it up with a 7-0 loss to defending Big Sky regular-season champion Weber State on Saturday. Doubles, which had been a strength all season, let the Vikings down against the Bengals, as the Vikings lost what proved to be a decisive doubles point before splitting their six singles matches against the Bengals.
 
LOOKING AHEAD:
The Vikings return home for the first time in six weeks for a Big Sky match against Eastern Washington on April 4. The Vikings will host the Eagles at Club Green Meadows in Vancouver, Wash., with the match set to begin at 10 a.m. (PT).
 
CLOSE LOSSES:
Closes losses have really hurt the Vikings lately, as the Vikings lost two straight matches by 4-3 scores before losing to defending Big Sky regular-season champion Weber State in their last match. The Vikings had been 2-2 in the Big Sky before their first 4-3 loss, but have dropped to 2-5 in Big Sky play since then. The Vikings have been bitten by close losses throughout their Big Sky schedule, though, as three of the team's five conference losses have come via 4-3 scores, while the Vikings also lost another close match to preseason conference favorite Idaho, 5-2.
 
TOUGH SCHEDULE:
The Vikings have faced a difficult schedule this season, as the Vikings have not played at home since beating Montana for the first time in program history on Feb. 21. Additionally, the Vikings hosted three straight matches against teams picked to contend for the conference title in Idaho, Montana State and Montana before they head out on the road. The Vikings will return home finally for a match against Eastern Washington at Club Green Meadows on April 4, at which point the Vikings will have to make a steady push to earn their first ever berth into the Big Sky tournament.
 
DOUBLE, DOUBLE, TOIL AND…TRIUMPH:
The Vikings dropped the doubles point in each of their matches last weekend, but have generally been an exceptional doubles team this season. The Vikings have won the doubles point in eight of their 12 matches, and had been perfect in Big Sky matches before losing the doubles point in both matches last weekend. All three of the Vikings' regular doubles teams have contributed to the team's success, too, led by sophomore Ethan Lopez and junior Brent Wheeler, who have an 8-4 overall record together this season, including a 5-1 mark in Big Sky matches. Senior Stuart Tierney and junior Ian Risenhoover also have a 10-6 record together, while juniors Matt Pronesti and Wil Cochrane have a 10-7 record together.
 
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. Sophomore Ethan Lopez also has a win percentage of .583 at 7-5 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 three 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.