MATCH NOTES (PDF)

PORTLAND, Ore. — Records are made to be broken, and more than a few could fall this weekend as the Portland State men's tennis team hosts four matches over the next five days.
 
First and foremost, senior Ian Risenhoover stands on the verge of claiming the career doubles wins record on his own, after tying Alex VanDerschelden for the record with his 32nd career doubles win in the Vikings' win over Northern Colorado last Saturday.
 
Risenhoover will have a good chance to break the record Friday, as the Vikings host North Dakota, which has gone just 1-9 as a team at line two in doubles. Risenhoover and doubles partner Scott Goldner have won five of their seven matches together at line two this season, giving Risenhoover a good chance to get his record 33rd doubles victory against the Fighting Hawks.
 
Risenhoover could also set a few more records this weekend, as he's currently second or tied for second all-time in Big Sky singles wins, wins at No. 6 singles and Big Sky doubles wins. Risenhoover will tie former teammate Abhinav Mishra for the all-time lead in Big Sky doubles wins with one more conference win in doubles, and Risenhoover is also just two wins from tying Chris Rice for the all-time lead in Big Sky singles wins. With three Big Sky matches coming up this weekend, Risenhoover has a good chance at both records, as well as the record for wins at No. 6 singles, where Risenhoover ranks just one win from tying Jeff Cero for the all-time lead.
 
Risenhoover's senior classmate Brent Wheeler also ranks highly in several doubles categories, and is even tied with Risenhoover in Big Sky doubles wins. Both Risenhoover and Wheeler have 15 career Big Sky doubles wins to rank one off the lead, meaning the two of them will likely compete against each other for the record by the end of the season. Wheeler also ranks just two wins behind Risenhoover in overall doubles wins, and could catch Risenhoover and claim the record for his own by the end of the season.
 
Meanwhile, as a team, the Vikings stand just two wins behind the program record for wins in a season, and could break that record with wins in at least three of their four upcoming matches this weekend. Additionally, the Vikings have never won more than four Big Sky matches in a single season, and at 2-1 in Big Sky play so far this season, and with three conference matches on tap this weekend, that record could be in jeopardy this weekend as well.
 
It all gets underway at 1 p.m. (PT) Friday, when the Vikings host North Dakota at Club Green Meadows. The Vikings also host Weber State and Idaho State at Club Green Meadows, with the Vikings playing the Wildcats at 5 p.m. (PT) Saturday, before hosting the Bengals at 12 p.m. Monday. The Vikings will then host Swarthmore at the Stott Center on the PSU campus Tuesday at 4 p.m. (PT).
 
MATCH INFO:
March 4 – vs. North Dakota – Vancouver, Wash. (Club Green Meadows) – 1 p.m. (PT)
March 5 – vs. Weber State – Vancouver, Wash. (Club Green Meadows) – 5 p.m. (PT)
March 7 – vs. Idaho State – Vancouver, Wash. (Club Green Meadows – 12 p.m. (PT)
March 8 – vs. Swarthmore – Portland, Ore. (Stott Center) – 4 p.m. (PT)
 
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Fans can follow the Portland State men's tennis team year round on Twitter at @ViksMTEN.
 
SCOUTING NORTH DAKOTA:
• The North Dakota Fighting Hawks (1-9, 0-5 Big Sky) have had a tough start to their 2016 dual season, as they've lost nine of their first 10 matches of the season, including their first five Big Sky matches. North Dakota played a close 4-3 match against Eastern Washington, however, just six days before the Eagles beat the Vikings 6-1. UND's one win this season came over NCAA Division II William Jewell last weekend
• UND returned five of the six players who played against the Vikings last season, when the Vikings beat UND 5-2 at Club Green Meadows. UND only lost Simon Danyluk, who played at line five against the Vikings' Wil Cochrane last season
• Statistically, UND is just 14-46 as a team in singles so far this season, and just 5-24 as a team in doubles. Additionally, UND's best record at any line in singles is just 3-7 (UND is 3-7 at lines one, four and five), while UND is also 3-7 at line one in doubles
• David Bergstrom has started the season at line one for UND in singles, and also plays at line one in doubles along with Travis Lau
• Ty Misialek and Connor Oberle have also split time at lines two and three in singles, while Lau, Joe Lee and Eshan Varma have played at lines four, five and six
 
ALL-TIME SERIES VERSUS NORTH DAKOTA:
The Vikings have never lost to the Fighting Hawks, as they enter their match Friday with a 3-0 record against them. The Vikings have only played UND once at home, however, when they beat UND 7-0 in 2013.
 
SCOUTING WEBER STATE:
• The Weber State Wildcats (3-4, 2-0 Big Sky) have been the class of the Big Sky the last two seasons, as they are a combined 22-1 in conference matches since 2014. The Wildcats have won the last two Big Sky regular-season titles, going 10-0 in 2014 and 10-1 in 2015. The Wildcats have also started Big Sky play 2-0 this season, having beaten both North Dakota and Montana State, 6-1
• The Wildcats return many of the players who have led them to their recent success, including all three of their All-Big Sky second-team selections in 2015 in seniors Landon Barlow, Todd Fought and Jakub Gewert. The Wildcats also return the other three players who played against the Vikings last season, when the Wildcats swept the Vikings 7-0 in Ogden. Besides the three All-Big Sky second-team selections, the Wildcats also return Stefan Cooper, who played at line two against the Vikings last season, as well as Sanjay Goswami and Hou-En Chen, who played at lines five and six, respectively
• Gewert has played at line one for the Wildcats so far this season, and has a 3-3 record at the position, and a 1-1 record in Big Sky play
• Fought leads a group of five players with 2-0 records in Big Sky play that includes Cooper, Chen, Barlow and Goswami. Fought also has a 4-2 record overall at line two this season
• Cooper leads the Wildcats with five singles wins overall this season, and has a 3-1 record at line three this season. Cooper and Goswami also entered the season ranked 10th in the ITA Mountain region in doubles, and have a 3-4 record together while playing at line one so far this season
• Barlow and Chen have the best record of any of the Wildcats' doubles teams, as they've gone 3-1 together so far, and have won their last three going into the weekend
 
ALL-TIME SERIES VERSUS WEBER STATE:
The Vikings have never beaten the Wildcats, and will enter Saturday's match against them with an 0-13 all-time mark against them. The Wildcats beat the Vikings 7-0 in Ogden last season, but the Vikings played them close in their last home match.
 
SCOUTING IDAHO STATE:
• The Idaho State Bengals (2-6, 0-1 Big Sky) lost 4-3 to Montana State in their only Big Sky match so far this season. The Bengals will play at Eastern Washington on Friday for their second Big Sky match, before they face the Vikings on Monday for their third
• The Vikings and Bengals share a pair of common opponents this season in Lewis-Clark State and Seattle. The Vikings beat Lewis-Clark State 7-0, while the Bengals beat the Warriors 5-2. The Vikings also won both of their matches against Seattle, while the Bengals split a pair of 4-3 matches to the Redhawks
• The Vikings played a 4-3 match in Pocatello last season, with the Bengals taking the doubles point from the Vikings and then splitting their six singles matches against PSU
• The Bengals return only two players from the singles lineup that played against the Vikings last season. The Bengals also have a very international roster with five of their eight players born outside of the United States
• Francis Filipovich has been the Bengals' top player in singles so far this season, as he has a 4-3 record at line five so far. Besides him, Sebastian Edin has a 2-5 record at line one, William Edin has a 1-6 record at line two, Bjorn Scheepbouwer has a 1-6 record at line three, Josh Goodwin has a 2-5 record at line four, and Haseeb Khan has a 2-3 record at line six
• The Bengals have had little success in doubles, as they are just 4-13 as a team this season, and no pairing has more than one win together this season
 
ALL-TIME SERIES VERSUS IDAHO STATE:
The Vikings are 3-9 all-time against Idaho State, and have lost their last four in the series after winning three straight matches from 2009-11. The Vikings came close to beating the Bengals last season, as they only lost 4-3 on the road.
 
SCOUTING SWARTHMORE:
• The Swarthmore Garnet (1-1), an NCAA Division III school, have only played two matches so far this season, losing a close 5-4 dual against Stevens Institute of Technology, ranked 25th in NCAA Division III, while beating NYU 8-1
• Swarthmore will play three more matches before facing the Vikings, as they'll play in the Whitman Invite in Walla Walla, Wash., over the weekend
• Swarthmore has a very youthful roster, as 12 of their 15 players are freshmen or sophomores
• Mark Fallati has led Swarthmore with a 2-0 record at line one so far this season, while John Larkin has matched him with a 2-0 record at line two
• Swarthmore has played well in doubles so far this season, as they are 5-1 as a team in doubles so far. The Garnet are 2-0 at lines two and three, and 1-1 at line one
 
ALL-TIME SERIES VERSUS SWARTHMORE:
This will be the first-ever meeting between the Vikings and Swarthmore.
 
LAST TIME OUT:
The Vikings swept by Northern Colorado 7-0 last Saturday, handing the Bears their worst conference loss of the season. The Bears had previously only lost by 4-3 scores, and those came against conference powers Eastern Washington and Sacramento State. The Bears had also beaten Idaho earlier in the season, with the Vandals coming off a Big Sky tournament title in 2015. Additionally, four of the Vikings' six singles matches went past two sets, and the Vikings came through in all four, a week after three-set losses cost the Vikings in a 6-1 loss to Eastern Washington. The Vikings lost four of five three-set matches in their loss to the Eagles, but have won their past six matches that went past two sets since then. Individually, junior Ethan Lopez won in his return to line two in singles, beating the Bears' Eric Schuermans, who had been ranked in the ITA national rankings earlier in the season, 6-2, 6-4. Senior Wil Cochrane also won his fourth straight match with a 7-5, 6-4 win over the Bears' Hayden Cramer at line five, while sophomore Nathan Boniel played his fifth straight three-set match at line one, and came through with his fourth win in that stretch with a 6-7 (4), 7-6 (3), 6-3 win over the Bears' Austin Mayo.
 
UPCOMING:
The Vikings stay home for a match against Southern Utah next Friday. The Vikings host the Thunderbirds at 2 p.m. at West Hills Racquet and Fitness Club in Portland, Ore.
 
COCHRANE STREAKING:
Senior Wil Cochrane has been the hottest player on the Vikings' roster of late, as he's won four straight singles matches going into the weekend. Cochrane started his streak with a comeback win over Seattle's Ian Clare in which he overcame a 3-0 deficit in the third set to clinch a 4-3 win over the Redhawks for the Vikings. Cochrane's streak has also given him the all-time lead in wins at No. 5 singles, as the senior now has 10 in his career at the position following his 7-5, 6-4 win over Northern Colorado's Hayden Cramer. Additionally, Cochrane holds the all-time lead in win percentage at No. 5 singles (.625), and has moved up to fifth all-time in career singles wins with 21, just seven behind co-leaders Chris Rice and Alex VanDerschelden at 28.
 
RECORDS ARE FALLING AND IT'S ONLY FEBRUARY!:
The Vikings have already broken the program record with a five-match win streak from Jan. 29 to Feb. 12, and could be poised to set more records as the season goes along. The Vikings are only two wins short of tying the program record for single-season win total, which the 2009 and 2013 Vikings set at nine. Additionally, the Vikings tied a program record with four Big Sky wins last season, and will certainly make a run at that record again this season.
 
RISENHOOVER CHASING CAREER LEAD IN DOUBLES WINS:
Senior Ian Risenhoover tied the all-time lead in doubles wins with his 6-3 win with Scott Goldner over Northern Colorado's Eric Schuermans and Hayden Cramer, giving him 32 doubles wins in his career, the same number Alex VanDerschelden won from 2008-11. Risenhoover will now take over the career record for doubles wins with his next win, which could come as early as Friday's match against North Dakota. Risenhoover will also tie the career record for wins at No. 6 singles with his next win, and tie the career record for Big Sky doubles wins with his next win. Risenhoover also ranks just two wins off the all-time lead in Big Sky singles wins. Risenhoover's fellow senior Brent Wheeler also ranks just behind his senior teammate with 30 career doubles wins, and also ranks tied with Risenhoover at one off the lead in career Big Sky doubles wins.
 
A TRUE NO. 1:
Sophomore transfer Nathan Boniel has been a blessing for the Vikings at No. 1 singles this season, as he leads the Vikings with an 8-1 record in 2016. Boniel's eight wins already rank him tied for second all-time in wins at No. 1 singles, as well as tied for the second-best single-season win total at the position. With 12 matches remaining in the season, Boniel also has a legitimate chance to break the records for overall singles wins and wins at No. 1 singles, both of which Chris Rice set at 15 in 2009. Boniel's 8-1 record also gives him a win percentage of .889, putting him on track to break Rice's single-season records for overall singles win percentage (.652) and win percentage at No. 1 singles (.652), both of which he set in 2009 as well. Boniel has also come up big in three-set matches for the Vikings, as his last five matches have all gone to three sets, and Boniel has won four of those five.
 
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 an 18-10 career mark (.643), and ranks second all-time in doubles wins percentage with a 15-9 career mark (.625). Lopez also set single-season records for Big Sky singles wins (7) and win percentage at No. 2 singles last season, and has won seven of his last eight singles matches, six 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 14 career wins together, seven behind the all-time leaders in Alec Marx and Abhinav Mishra at 21, and the Vikings have 12 matches left on their schedule.
 
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. Cochrane ranks highest of the four players with 21 singles wins, ranking him fifth all-time in school history. Wheeler, meanwhile, has 20 career wins to rank sixth all-time, while Lopez ranks seventh with 18 career wins and Risenhoover ranks eighth with 16 career wins.
 
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.