BOX SCORE - PDF | HTML

SAN DIEGO, Calif. — The Portland State men's tennis team found itself on the wrong end of another dual Tuesday, losing 6-3 to Point Loma to drop their second match in as many days.
 
The Vikings (11-5) took two of three doubles matches against the Sea Lions (9-10) at PLNU Tennis Courts, but lost in straight sets at lines two through six in singles for the second straight day.
 
Sophomore Nathan Boniel remained a bright spot for the Vikings, however, as he won his ninth straight match while beating Point Loma's Andre Staab 6-3, 6-2 at line one. With the win, Boniel improved to 15-1 on the season, tying the records for overall wins in a season and wins at No. 1 singles, both of which Chris Rice set at 15 in 2009. Boniel also remains well ahead of Rice's single-season record win percentage, as Boniel currently holds a .938 win percentage in 2016, nearly 300 percentage points better than Rice's current record of .652, set in 2009.
 
Boniel also won in doubles Tuesday, as he and senior Wil Cochrane beat the Sea Lions' Adrian Braun and CJ Erion 8-6 at line two. Junior Ethan Lopez and senior Brent Wheeler also pulled out a close match at line one in doubles, as they beat the Sea Lions' Staab and Daniel Milliken in a tiebreaker.
 
Lopez's and Wheeler's win in doubles keeps the pair on their own record-setting path, as they now rank just one win behind Alec Marx and Abhinav Mishra for the most wins by a doubles team in school history. Lopez and Wheeler also broke the single-season record for overall wins by a doubles team with their 11th win Tuesday, and broke the single-season record for wins at No. 1 doubles by a team (11), as well.
 
Additionally, Wheeler now ranks just one doubles win behind teammate Ian Risenhoover for the individual career wins record, as Risenhoover has 37 doubles wins in his career compared to 36 for Wheeler.
 
Several more records could fall as the Vikings return to Big Sky action Friday, with a match at Sacramento State at 1 p.m. at Rio Del Oro Racquet Club.
 
The Vikings will hope to bounce back in that match, as they head into it on their first losing streak of the season after losing back-to-back matches against UC Riverside and Point Loma. The Vikings will also be seeking to clinch their first winning season in Big Sky play when they play the Hornets, as they currently stand 5-2 in conference with four matches remaining.
 
Match Notes: Tuesday was the first-ever meeting between Portland State and Point Loma in men's tennis, meaning the Sea Lions take a 1-0 lead in the all-time series between the two teams with their win…Each doubles match counted as a point in the match since Point Loma, the home team, is an NCAA Division II school and that is the format that they follow.

Point Loma 6, Portland State 3
Mar 22, 2016 at San Diego, CA (PLNU Tennis Courts) 

Singles competition

1. BONIEL, Nathan (PSU) def. Staab, Andre (PLNU-MT) 6-3, 6-2

2. Blaho, Martin (PLNU-MT) def. LOPEZ, Ethan (PSU) 6-3, 6-4

3. Milliken, Daniel (PLNU-MT) def. WHEELER, Brent (PSU) 7-6, 6-4

4. Tenbroeck, James (PLNU-MT) def. COCHRANE, Wil (PSU) 6-2, 6-1

5. Erion, CJ (PLNU-MT) def. RISENHOOVER, Ian (PSU) 6-1, 6-0

6. von Braun, Adrian (PLNU-MT) def. RISENHOOVER, Russell (PSU) 6-4, 6-2

Doubles competition

1. WHEELER, Brent/LOPEZ, Ethan (PSU) def. Staab, Andre/Milliken, Daniel (PLNU-MT) 9-8

2. COCHRANE, Wil/BONIEL, Nathan (PSU) def. von Braun, Adrian/Erion, CJ (PLNU-MT) 8-6

3. Blaho, Martin/Tenbroeck, James (PLNU-MT) def. RISENHOOVER, Ian/RISENHOOVER, Russell (PSU) 8-6

Match Notes

Portland State 11-5

Point Loma 9-10

T-3:13 A-73