MATCH NOTES (PDF)

PORTLAND, Ore. — The Portland State men's tennis team hits the road for the first time this season, as the Vikings will play their first match outside of Portland with a rematch against Seattle Friday at 7:15 p.m. (PT) at the Tennis Center at Sand Point in Seattle, Wash.
 
Portland has been good to the Vikings in the early season, as the Vikings have been off to their best start in program history at 4-1 so far in 2016. The Vikings also carry a four-match win streak into their match against the Redhawks (0-8) Friday, something only one other Viking team has ever done and not since 2009.
 
The Vikings could set the program record with a fifth straight win against the Redhawks, then, and have the chance for more history in the match as well. Senior Ian Risenhoover ranks just one win off the career lead in doubles wins, making Friday's match against Seattle Risenhoover's first opportunity to tie Alex VanDerschelden's current record of 32 career doubles wins. Risenhoover would appear to have a good chance at tying the record, as he and doubles partner Scott Goldner remain undefeated at 4-0 in doubles this season.
 
Goldner missed the Vikings' earlier match against the Redhawks, a 5-2 win, but has been in top form since that match. Goldner has won three straight matches at line two in singles, all of which have come in straight sets.
 
Several Vikings will carry their own win streaks into the match, as well, starting with sophomore Nathan Boniel, who remains undefeated at line one during the dual season. Boniel has won his first five matches of the season, including a 6-0, 6-0 win over the Redhawks' Ian Clare.
 
Senior Brent Wheeler and junior Ethan Lopez also carry four-match win streaks in singles into the rematch against the Redhawks, while both also won their earlier matches against Seattle. Wheeler, filling in for the missing Goldner at line two, beat Seattle's John Stormans 4-6, 6-2, 6-3, while Lopez, also playing up a line than his usual spot at line four, beat Seattle's Matt Alderson 6-3, 6-0 at line three.
 
Additionally, Boniel and senior Wil Cochrane have won three straight matches in doubles going into the weekend, as they've gone 3-1 at line three for the Vikings.
 
The Vikings' rematch against Seattle gives the Vikings a chance for added revenge against the Redhawks, who beat the Vikings in each of head coach Toby Krauel's first two seasons at Portland State. The Redhawks beat the Vikings 6-1 in Krauel's first season in 2014, and then followed up with a 5-2 win in a neutral-site match in Las Vegas, Nev., in 2015.
 
The Vikings will continue on the road after their match against the Redhawks, as they'll head to southeast Washington for a pair matches against Eastern Washington and Gonzaga next weekend.
 
MATCH INFO:
Feb. 12 – at Seattle – Seattle, Wash. (Tennis Center at Sand Point) – 7:15 p.m.
 
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Fans can follow the Portland State men's tennis team year round on Twitter at @ViksMTEN.
 
SCOUTING SEATTLE:
• The Vikings will face the Redhawks (0-8) for a second time this season, after beating them for the first time in three years with a 5-2 win at Club Green Meadows on Jan. 30
• The Vikings were without Scott Goldner for their earlier match against Seattle, meaning everybody past sophomore Nathan Boniel played a line up from their usual positions in singles. Despite the lineup change, the Vikings still won at the top two lines in doubles, as well as the top four lines in singles
• The Redhawks have played a tough schedule to start the 2016 dual season, as they are 0-8 but have lost two matches each to Pac-12 schools Oregon and Washington, and have also lost to Portland (7-0), and Big Sky schools Eastern Washington (4-3) and Idaho (6-1) in addition to their 5-2 loss to Portland State
• The tough schedule has left the Redhawks with a 3-21 record as a team in doubles, and 7-41 in singles
• The Redhawks have had their most success at the bottom of their singles and doubles lineups, as the Redhawks are 4-4 as a team at line six in singles, and 2-6 at line three in doubles
• Ian Clare and Michael Schoettler are responsible for both of the Redhawks' wins at line three in doubles, as they are 2-1 together this season
• Connor Leahy, meanwhile, is responsible for the Redhawks' four wins at line six, as he's 4-2 at the position this season
 
ALL-TIME SERIES VERSUS SEATTLE:
The Vikings' earlier win over Seattle gave them a 6-3 lead in the all-time series between the two teams. The Vikings had won five straight from 2009-13, but hadn't won since then before beating the Redhawks 5-2 on Jan. 30.
 
LAST TIME OUT:
The Vikings swept the weekend, winning both of their matches 6-1 over Lewis & Clark and Northern Arizona. The Vikings' win over Northern Arizona opened Big Sky play for the Vikings, and validated the early promise the Vikings had shown at the start of the season. The Vikings' win over Northern Arizona came a season after the Lumberjacks beat the Vikings 6-1 and advanced to the Big Sky tournament final. The win also gave the Vikings just their second ever over the perennially strong Lumberjacks, who had been 10-1 all-time against the Vikings before last weekend. The Vikings got it done from top to bottom against the Lumberjacks, taking the doubles point with wins at lines two and three in doubles, and then winning five of the six singles matches. Junior Scott Goldner led the charge in singles with a 6-2, 6-1 win at line two, while junior Ethan Lopez followed with a 7-6, 6-4 win at line four. Sophomore Nathan Boniel then clinched the dual with his fifth straight win at line one, beating Northern Arizona's Tim Handel 6-2, 4-6, 6-1. The Vikings added two more wins after clinching the dual, as seniors Brent Wheeler and Ian Risenhoover won at lines three and six, respectively.
 
UPCOMING:
The Vikings continue their road trip with a pair of matches in southeastern Washington next weekend. The Vikings will first face Big Sky-rival Eastern Washington, Feb. 20 at 11 a.m. (PT) in Cheney, Wash., and then play one of head coach Toby Krauel's old schools in Gonzaga, Feb. 21 at 9 a.m. (PT) in Spokane, Wash.
 
RISENHOOVER CHASING CAREER LEAD IN DOUBLES WINS:
Senior Ian Risenhoover stands just one win away from tying Alex VanDerschelden for the career lead in doubles victories with 32. Risenhoover has already won four matches with Scott Goldner, as the pair are undefeated at 4-0 at line two so far this season. If Risenhoover wins in doubles against Seattle, then he'll get his first chance at claiming the record for himself when the Vikings play Eastern Washington on Feb. 20. Besides Risenhoover, fellow seniors Brent Wheeler and Wil Cochrane also rank in the career top 10 for doubles wins, as Wheeler ranks tied four fourth with 27 doubles victories, while Cochrane ranks ninth with 19.
 
VIKINGS IN CAREER TOP 10 FOR SINGLES WINS:
The Vikings' three seniors of Wil Cochrane, Ian Risenhoover and Brent Wheeler all rank in the top 10 all-time in career singles wins at Portland State, as well as junior Ethan Lopez. Wheeler ranks highest of the four players with 19 singles wins, ranking him fifth all-time in school history. Cochrane, meanwhile, has 17 career wins to rank sixth all-time, while Lopez and Risenhoover rank tied for seventh all-time with 15 career wins.
 
A TRUE NO. 1:
Sophomore transfer Nathan Boniel has been a blessing for the Vikings at No. 1 singles this season, as he remains 5-0 during the dual season, and has won 10 of the 12 sets he's played this season. Boniel's five wins already rank tied for the fifth-best single-season total in school history, while his 5-0 record put him well ahead of the current single-season records for overall win percentage and win percentage at No. 1 singles, both of which Chris Rice set with a 15-8 record (.652) in 2009.
 
FORGET J-LO, WE'LL TAKE E-LO:
Junior Ethan Lopez is just barely into his second year within the Portland State men's tennis program, but he's already become one of the program's all-time best players. Lopez currently holds the career lead in singles win percentage with a 15-9 career mark (.625), and ranks second all-time in doubles wins percentage with a 13-8 career mark (.619). Lopez also set single-season records for Big Sky singles wins (7) and win percentage at No. 2 singles last season, and has won four straight singles matches in the early going of this season. Additionally, Lopez and senior Brent Wheeler have a chance to become the all-time winningest doubles team at Portland State, as they have 12 career wins together, nine behind the all-time leaders in Alec Marx and Abhinav Mishra, who won 21 matches together from 2012-14.
 
NEWCOMERS:
The Vikings brought in three players over the offseason in junior transfer Scott Goldner, sophomore transfer Nathan Boniel and freshman Yousef Abdo. Boniel came to the Vikings with impressive credentials after he won an NCCAA national title at Campbellsville University in 2015. Boniel was named an NCCAA first-team All-American after winning the national title, and was also named to the Mid-South Conference first team last season. Goldner, meanwhile, came to the Vikings after graduating Magna Cum Laude after only three years at the University of Oregon where he played club tennis. Goldner also lettered in tennis at Lake Oswego High School during all four years of high school, and placed third at state as a senior with Lake Oswego in 2012. Abdo came to the Vikings out of Cairo, Egypt, where he was ranked in the top 10 in the U14 and U16 age divisions. Abdo also achieved a French ranking of 5/6 during his junior career, and was a two-time quarterfinalist at the Egyptian national tournament.
 
RETURNERS:
The Vikings return four of the six regular players from their lineup last season in Ethan Lopez, Brent Wheeler, Wil Cochrane and Ian Risenhoover, as well as junior Nacor Ibanez, who entered the Vikings' lineup on occasion last season. Lopez had the best season of the Vikings' four returners, as he was named an All-Big Sky honorable mention after a record-setting year in 2015. Lopez set Portland State single-season school records for Big Sky singles wins (7), Big Sky wins by a team (8 w/ Brent Wheeler) and win percentage at No. 2 singles (.727). Lopez also led the Vikings with a 17-12 overall singles record (11-8 during the dual season), and went 8-1 in Big Sky doubles matches with Wheeler. Risenhoover and Cochrane also had great doubles seasons in 2015, with Risenhoover going 7-8 with Stuart Tierney at line one, while Cochrane went 7-7 with Matt Pronesti at line two.
 
2014-15 SEASON RECAP:
The Vikings posted historic accomplishments throughout the 2014-15 season, starting in the fall when the Vikings' doubles team of Wil Cochrane and Matt Pronesti became the first team to win a main draw doubles title since 2010 as they won the second flight of the PNW Intercollegiates. Pronesti also won the singles title at the Corvallis Indoor Tennis Championships, becoming the first Viking to win a main draw singles title since 2011. Pronesti was named the Big Sky Player of the Week after his win in Corvallis, which gave him another historic feat as it made him the Vikings' first Big Sky Player of the Week since 2010. The Vikings picked up another Big Sky Player of the Week honor a little while later, as Stuart Tierney won the award after leading the Vikings to their first-ever win over defending Big Sky tournament-champion Montana with a 5-2 victory on Feb. 21. The Vikings also picked up their first-ever win over traditional conference power Sacramento State, beating the Hornets 4-3 on April 11. The historic wins led the Vikings to four Big Sky wins during the 2015 spring season, which tied the program record for conference wins in a single season.