Complete match notes (PDF)

PORTLAND, Ore. — The Portland State men's tennis team (4-4, 2-2 Big Sky) continue on its six-week road trip with a pair of matches in Colorado this weekend. The Vikings play at Colorado College Friday at 3 p.m. (MT) in Colorado Springs, Colo., and then return to Big Sky action with a match against Northern Colorado in Greeley, Colo., Saturday at 1 p.m. (MT).
 
SCOUTING COLORADO COLLEGE:
The Colorado College Tigers (1-1), out of the Division III Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference, enter their match against the Vikings coming off their first win of the 2014-15 season after beating Colorado Christian 8-1 on Feb. 20. That match was the Tigers' first of the team's spring season, and the first match play of any kind for the Tigers since they played at the ITA West Regional at the end of September. Overall, the Tigers have a very deep roster with 15 players listed, as well as a very far-reaching roster with players from California, Colorado, Texas, Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey and Connecticut among others. Sophomore Jason Gutierrez, out of Excelsior, Minn., played at line one for the Tigers in their match against Colorado Christian two weekends ago. Senior Jack Burger, meanwhile, played at line two for the Tigers, and teamed up with Gutierrez at line one in doubles.
 
ALL-TIME SERIES VERSUS COLORADO COLLEGE:
Friday's match will be the first ever meeting between Portland State and Colorado College.
 
SCOUTING NORTHERN COLORADO:
The Northern Colorado Bears (3-7, 0-3 Big Sky) will be the third team that qualified for the Big Sky Tournament last season that the Vikings have played in their first five conference matches already this season. The Bears went 5-5 and finished sixth in the Big Sky last season, which included a 5-2 win over the Vikings in Greeley. The Bears have struggled out of the gates in conference play this season, however, as they've opened the conference schedule 0-3 with losses to Montana State (5-2 on Feb. 8), Eastern Washington (5-2 on Feb. 20) and Idaho (6-1 on Feb. 21). The Bears will also host Montana Friday, the day before they host the Vikings. Individually, the Bears returned senior Ben Gendron, an All-Big Sky second-team selection, this season, and Gendron has a 5-5 record so far at line one. Sophomore Austin Mayo, meanwhile, leads the team with a 6-4 record at line two, and also plays at line one with Gendron in doubles, where they have a 3-7 record together so far this season. Junior Mitchell Knight also has a 3-6 record at line three, while the Bears have alternated their singles lineup frequently at the bottom three spots. In doubles, freshman Cassell King and senior Jordan Loughnan have a 3-4 record at line two, while juniors Eric Schuermans and Jacob Sheldon have a 3-6 record at line three.
 
ALL-TIME SERIES VERSUS NORTHERN COLORADO:
The Vikings lead the all-time series versus Northern Colorado, 4-3, but have lost three straight in the series after winning the first four matches between the two teams. Additionally, the Vikings and the Bears are tied 2-2 in matches played in Greeley, with the Bears taking the last two matches on their home court, each by 5-2 scores.
 
VIKINGS STAY HOT WITH 5-2 ROAD WIN AT NORTH DAKOTA:
The Vikings built off their historic win over Montana on Feb. 21 with a 5-2 road win at North Dakota last Saturday. The Vikings won the match over UND in familiar fashion, opening up an early lead with a doubles-point victory before closing the door with wins in four of the six singles matches. The Vikings claimed the doubles point with wins at lines two and three in doubles, and then won the first three singles matches to clinch the dual with three matches still in play. Sophomore Ethan Lopez clinched the dual for the Vikings with his 6-2, 6-1 win over UND's Connor Oberle at line two. Senior Stuart Tierney and junior Ian Risenhoover, meanwhile, put Lopez in position to clinch the dual for the Vikings, as Tierney beat UND's Dustin Britton 6-2, 6-1 at line one, while Risenhoover beat UND's Ty Misialek, 6-0, 6-4 at line six. Junior Wil Cochrane also pulled out a win for the Vikings at line five later in the match, coming back to beat UND's Simon Danyluk in a back-and-forth match tiebreaker to wrap up a 3-6, 6-3, 1-0 (12-10) win.
 
LOOKING AHEAD:
The Vikings play two more Big Sky road matches next weekend. The Vikings play at Idaho State on March 13 in Pocatello, Idaho, and then travel to Ogden Utah, to face Weber State the next day on March 14.
 
VIKINGS ON THE ROAD:
The Vikings' win over North Dakota last weekend kicked off a six-week road trip for the Vikings, as they face a difficult schedule while pursuing their first ever berth into the Big Sky Tournament at the end of the season. The win over UND leveled the Vikings' Big Sky record at 2-2, putting the Vikings in good position after they hosted three straight matches against teams picked to contend for the conference title in Idaho, Montana State and Montana. After UND, the Vikings will face Northern Colorado (March 7), Idaho State (March 13) and Weber State (March 14) all on the road, along with four non-conference matches against Colorado College (March 6), Scottsdale Community College (March 23), Grand Canyon (March 24) and Seattle (March 25). The Vikings will return home on April 3, when they host Eastern Washington at Club Green Meadows in Vancouver, Wash., at 2 p.m. (PT).
 
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 six of their eight matches already, including all four 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. Otherwise, the Vikings have won the doubles point against Lewis-Clark State (Jan. 24), Idaho (Jan. 30), Hawaii Hilo (Feb. 2), Montana State (Feb. 13), Montana (Feb. 21) and North Dakota (Feb. 28). All three of the Vikings' regular doubles teams have winning records as well, led by sophomore Ethan Lopez and junior Brent Wheeler, who have a 7-3 overall record together this season, as well as a team-best 5-2 record at line three during the dual season. Senior Stuart Tierney and junior Ian Risenhoover, also have an 8-4 record overall together this season, while juniors Wil Cochrane and Matt Pronesti have an 8-5 overall record together. Additionally, the Vikings won two doubles titles during their tournament schedule this season, as Cochrane and Pronesti won the second flight at the PNW Intercollegiates in November, while Tierney and Risenhoover won the doubles title at the Corvallis Indoor Tennis Championships.
 
TIERNEY IS GETTING HOT:
Senior Stuart Tierney has won four straight singles matches, including two against former All-Big Sky selections. Tierney beat Montana State's Niklas Brandes, a three-time All-Big Sky first-team selection, 6-0, 7-6 (5) on Feb. 13, and then followed that up with a 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 win over Montana's Tomasz Soltyka, a second-team All-Big Sky selection last season., on Feb. 21. Tierney's win over Soltyka came in his return to line one for the Vikings, and marked his first win at line one this season, after he started the season 0-3 while battling through injuries.
 
RECORD SETTERS:
A number of Vikings have put themselves on the verge of breaking single-season records at Portland State. Junior Wil Cochrane will tie the school record for single-season wins at line five with two more wins, while fellow junior Matt Pronesti needs three more wins to tie the school record for single-season wins at line four. Additionally, junior Brent Wheeler ranks four wins behind the record of 10 wins at line three in doubles.
 
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.