Complete match notes (PDF)

PORTLAND, Ore. — The Portland State men's tennis team hits the road for three matches in California this week, and if the Vikings get their way, the trip will be a dry run for another trip to California at the end of the season, when the Vikings hope to be playing in the program's first Big Sky tournament in Gold River, Calif., April 29 to May 1.
 
The Vikings have already set single-season program records for overall wins and Big Sky wins in 2016, but they still have work to do if they want to make the Big Sky tournament. The Vikings' three matches in California this week kick off a six-match road trip, which will make or break the Vikings' hopes for a spot in the conference tournament.
 
The Vikings currently rank tied for third in the Big Sky, but will close Big Sky play with road matches against Sacramento State, Idaho, Montana State and Montana, all of which were Big Sky tournament teams last season.
 
The Vikings are a little bit untested on the road so far this season, as the Vikings' match at UC Riverside Monday will be the team's first road match in a month. Additionally, only five of the Vikings' 14 matches so far this have been on the road, and two of those matches were still played in Portland.
 
The Vikings played one of their best matches of the season on the road, however, as Portland State beat Gonzaga 5-2 on Feb. 21. That win gave the Vikings just their second ever over the Bulldogs, who had won 10 of the teams' 12 previous matches by 7-0 or 6-1 scores.
 
Portland State gets the road trip underway against UC Riverside Monday at 1 p.m. (PT), and then play at NCAA Division II Point Loma Tuesday at 2 p.m. (PT). The Vikings return to Big Sky play with a match at Sacramento State Friday that will start at 1 p.m. (PT).
 
MATCH INFO:
March 21 – at UC Riverside – Riverside, Calif. (SRC Tennis Courts) – 1 p.m. (PT)
March 22 – at Point Loma – San Diego, Calif. (PLNU Tennis Courts) – 2 p.m. (PT)
March 25 – at Sacramento State – Sacramento, Calif. (Rio Del Oro R.C.) – 1 p.m. (PT)
 
FOLLOW THE VIKINGS ON TWITTER:
Fans can follow the Portland State men's tennis team year round on Twitter at @ViksMTEN.
 
SCOUTING UC RIVERSIDE:
• The UC Riverside Highlanders (9-9) have played four matches against Big Sky schools already this season, and have lost all four. The Highlanders lost 6-1 to Eastern Washington on Jan. 30, 7-0 to Idaho on Jan. 31, 5-2 to Weber State on Feb. 5 and 5-2 to Northern Arizona on Feb. 20. The Vikings also lost to Eastern Washington and Weber State, but beat Northern Arizona 6-1 on Feb. 6
• The Highlanders have been a strong team at home so far, as they're 7-3 on their home courts, and just 1-5 on the road. One of the Highlanders' three home losses came against Northern Arizona, however
• The Highlanders are in their first season under head coach Mattias Johansson, and have bounced back from a 4-16 season in 2015, when they also placed fifth in the six-team Big West Conference at 1-4 in conference play
• The Highlanders return eight letterwinners from their 2015 team, and added two newcomers
• The Highlanders are .500 or better at lines two, three, five and six, and are 8-10 this season at line four as well
• Freshman Anderson Ju leads the team with a 9-5 record in singles while playing at lines five and six. Redshirt senior Sean Robles, meanwhile, has an 8-5 record overall and a 7-3 record at line four, while freshman Kyle McCann has an 11-7 record overall and a 10-6 record at line three
• The Highlanders have played 19 different doubles combinations during the dual season, but McCann and senior Marcus Vizcarra lead the team with a 7-3 record at line two. Ju and redshirt senior Hans Baumstark have also won four straight matches and have a 5-1 record at line three
 
ALL-TIME SERIES VERSUS UC RIVERSIDE:
The Vikings have never beaten the Highlanders, as they'll enter Monday's match 0-3 all-time against them. The Vikings last played the Highlanders in 2008, when they lost 5-2 at home. Besides that match, the Vikings also lost 6-1 on the road in 2002 and 6-1 at home in 2003.
 
SCOUTING POINT LOMA:
• The Point Loma Sea Lions (8-9), ranked 27th in NCAA Division II, have won five straight matches going into the week, including a 7-2 win over NCAA Division I Connecticut
• The Sea Lions have been a much better team at home as opposed to on the road this season, as they are 7-4 at home, but just 1-5 on the road
• The Sea Lions have an experienced roster with four seniors among the team's nine players, as well as three returning sophomores
• Sophomore CJ Erion leads the team with a 10-6 record in singles, including a 6-2 record at line four. Erion has also won five straight matches going into the week, all of which have come in straight sets
• Senior Andre Staab has an 8-6 record at line one for the Sea Lions, and has won two straight three-set matches going into the week
• Senior Martin Blaho has a 9-8 record overall this season, including an 8-7 record at line two. Like Erion, Blaho has also won five straight matches going into the week, the last four in straight sets
• Freshman Adrian von Braun has also moved up to line six fairly recently for the Sea Lions, and has won four straight matches, all in straight sets
• The Sea Lions have won the doubles point in six of their last seven matches, and have winning records at lines one and three in doubles
• Staab and Daniel Milliken have an 8-7 record together at line one, and have won three straight matches together entering the week
• Blaho and James Tenbroeck have a 6-1 record together at line three, and have won six straight matches together entering the week
 
ALL-TIME SERIES VERSUS POINT LOMA:
Tuesday will be the first-ever meeting between Point Loma and the Vikings.
 
SCOUTING SACRAMENTO STATE:
• The Sacramento State Hornets (6-11, 4-0 Big Sky) have been out to a hot start in Big Sky play this season, having won all four of their matches so far over North Dakota (7-0 on Feb. 19), Northern Colorado (4-3 on Feb. 21), Montana State (6-1 on Feb. 27) and defending Big Sky tournament champion Idaho (5-2 on March 18)
• The Hornets have failed to claim a share of the Big Sky regular-season crown in each of the past two seasons, after winning at least a share of the Big Sky regular-season title every year from 2006-13
• The Vikings beat the Hornets for the first time ever last season, with current senior Ian Risenhoover winning the decisive match in a 4-3 win after winning a third-set tiebreaker, 7-4
• The Hornets have a predominately young roster this season, as nine of their 11 players are freshmen and sophomores, with only two seniors beyond that. The Hornets also have a very international roster, with seven of the team's 11 players born outside of the United States
• Three of the Hornets' players have 4-0 records in Big Sky so far in singles, while the Hornets' No. 2 and No. 3 doubles teams also have a 6-1 record combined in Big Sky play
• Freshman Mikus Losbergs have an 8-7 record while playing at line one this season, and has won three straight matches going into the weekend
• Freshman Dom Miller also has a winning record at 8-6 overall in singles this season. Miller has played anywhere from line three to line six this season, but has been playing at line four most recently
• Christopher Clayton has a 7-5 record overall in singles, and has won four straight matches while playing at lines four and five
• Losbergs and Kasparas Zemaitelis are ranked No. 2 in the ITA West Region, and have been ranked as highly as 30th nationally this season
 
ALL-TIME SERIES VERSUS SACRAMENTO STATE:
The Vikings earned their first-ever win over the Hornets last season, with a 4-3 win at home. That snapped a 14-match losing streak for the Vikings to open their series against the Hornets, and the Vikings did not earn a point in 10 of those 14 losses. The Vikings have lost all six matches they've played in Sacramento, and five of those six have been by 7-0 scores.
 
LAST TIME OUT:
The Vikings wrapped up a 7-0 sweep of Southern Utah in just over 80 minutes last Friday, March 11. The Vikings only dropped 10 games combined in singles against the Thunderbirds, and won seven of the 12 singles sets at 6-0. The dominating match was a welcomed end to a busy portion of the Vikings' schedule, as the team was playing its fifth match in the last eight days at the time. The win gave the Vikings a program-record fifth Big Sky win of the season, and extended their record for overall wins in a season to 11. Junior Nacor Ibanez also earned the first official singles win of his career in the match, beating Southern Utah's Ben Yeacker 6-2, 6-0 at line six.
 
UPCOMING:
The Vikings head to Idaho for a match against the defending Big Sky tournament-champion Vandals, April 2, in Moscow, Idaho. The Vikings will then take a week off before wrapping the Big Sky season against the Montana schools, April 15-16.
 
ROAD QUESTIONS:
The Vikings have been relatively untested away from home so far this season, as only five of their 14 matches have been on the road, and two of those matches were still played in Portland. Additionally, two of the Vikings' three losses this season have come on the road, as the Vikings lost 6-1 to Portland and Eastern Washington. One of the Vikings' best wins of the season also came on the road, however, as the Vikings beat Gonzaga 5-2 in the Bulldogs' brand new Stevens Center. The Vikings entered that match just 1-11 all-time against the Bulldogs, who had won 10 of the teams' 12 previous meetings by 6-1 of 7-0 scores. The Vikings were also just coming off their loss to the Eagles the day before, but the Vikings showed no ill effects as they posted the historic victory.
 
2016 ALREADY GUARANTEED TO BE BEST SEASON IN PROGRAM HISTORY:
The Vikings have already broken the single-season program records for overall wins (11) and Big Sky wins (5) this season. No team had ever won more than nine matches overall in a season before this year's team, and no team had ever won more than four Big Sky matches. Additionally, no team has ever finished the season with a winning record overall or in Big Sky play, but this year's team has a great chance to accomplish both. The Vikings need just one more win overall and in Big Sky play to clinch the program's first winning record in each, and both could come this weekend.
 
RISENHOOVER TAKES OVER CAREER LEAD IN DOUBLES WINS:
Senior Ian Risenhoover took over the all-time lead in doubles wins with a 6-2 win over North Dakota's Connor Oberle and Matt Hokanson on March 4. That win gave Risenhoover the 33rd doubles win of his career, moving him past Alex VanDerschelden, who set the record with 32 wins from 2008-11. Risenhoover has since extended his career record to 37 wins, and took over the career lead in Big Sky doubles wins with a 6-4 win over Weber State's Todd Fought and Jakub Gewert on March 5. Risenhoover and Scott Goldner have won five straight doubles matches together as well, and lead the team with a 9-2 record together this season. Risenhoover and Goldner's 9-2 record, all of which has come at line two, already gives them the single-season record for wins at No. 2 doubles, as well as the single-season record for win percentage at No. 2 doubles. Both Risenhoover and Goldner have also tied the individual record for wins at No. 2 doubles, a record Risenhoover himself set with nine in 2013.
 
BONIEL CHASING BEST SEASON IN SCHOOL HISTORY:
Sophomore transfer Nathan Boniel could finish 2016 with far and away the best individual season in program history. Boniel's 13-1 record in singles give him the most wins this season of any player in the Big Sky Conference, as well as the highest win percentage at .929. Boniel's 13 wins also rank him just three wins from tying the Portland State single-season records for overall singles wins and win percentage at No. 1 singles, both of which Chris Rice set at 15 in 2009, and Boniel has seven regular-season matches remaining in which to get the three wins he needs to pass Rice. Additionally, Boniel ranks just one win from tying teammate Ethan Lopez's single-season record for Big Sky singles wins, which Lopez set at seven last season. Boniel's win percentage of .929 would also crush the single-season records for overall singles win percentage and win percentage at No. 1 singles that Rice set at .652 in 2009, if the season ended today. Boniel's closest competition for the win percentage record might actually come from his teammates, as both Lopez and senior Wil Cochrane have overall win percentages of .714, both of which would better Rice's record as well. Boniel has been on a roll lately, though, as he's won seven straight matches entering the week, and has only lost eight combined games in his last four Big Sky matches.
 
CAREER RECORD CHASING IN TOP 10:
Several of the Vikings' seniors are jockeying for position within the career top 10s in both singles and doubles. Senior Ian Risenhoover currently holds the lead with 37 career doubles wins, but senior Brent Wheeler ranks close behind with 34 wins in his career. Wheeler also ranks just one win behind Risenhoover in Big Sky doubles wins, as he has 18 career wins in Big Sky matches behind Risenhoover's record of 19. Wheeler and fellow senior Wil Cochrane are also jockeying for position in the career top 10 in singles wins, with Cochrane currently fourth all-time with 24 career wins, while Wheeler ranks right behind in a tie for fifth with 23. Both could challenge for the career record for singles wins by the end of the season, too, as Chris Rice and Alex VanDerschelden currently hold the record at 28, just four wins ahead of Cochrane with seven matches remaining in the Vikings' regular season. Risenhoover, meanwhile, also holds the career lead in Big Sky singles wins with 15, but junior Ethan Lopez ranks close behind in third with 11 career conference wins, with Cochrane and Wheeler tied for fourth and fifth with 10 and nine career conference wins, respectively.
 
FORGET J-LO, WE'LL TAKE E-LO:
Junior Ethan Lopez is only in 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 21-12 career mark (.636), and ranks second all-time in doubles wins percentage with a 19-10 career mark (.655). Lopez also set single-season records for Big Sky singles wins (7) and win percentage at No. 2 singles last season (.727), and has won 10 of his last 13 singles matches, nine in straight sets. Additionally, Lopez and senior Brent Wheeler have a chance to become the all-time winningest doubles team at Portland State, as they have 18 career wins together, just three behind all-time leaders Alec Marx and Abhinav Mishra at 21, and Lopez and Wheeler have seven regular-season matches left on the schedule in which to pass Marx and Mishra.
 
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.