Complete Match Notes (PDF)

PORTLAND, Ore. — For all intents and purposes, the season starts Friday for the Portland State men's tennis team.
 
The Vikings have played seven matches already this season, of course, but six of those seven matches were against non-conference opponents and have little effect on the end result for the Vikings. What will really matter for the Vikings will be their record in Big Sky play, which currently stands at 0-1 following an early season loss to perennial conference-title contender Sacramento State.
 
Friday's match against Eastern Washington, then, represents an opportunity for the Vikings to restart their season and gain some momentum heading into the run of Big Sky matches that will end the Vikings' season. The Vikings will play one more non-conference match against Linfield after they play Eastern Washington Friday, but then play nine straight Big Sky matches to wrap their season.
 
A win Friday would put the Vikings back in the hunt for a Big Sky tournament berth, something the Vikings have always chased but have never been able to achieve.
 
Eastern Washington will be a challenging team for the Vikings, however, as they've gotten off to a strong start at 3-2 overall and 1-0 in Big Sky play. Additionally, the Eagles boast wins over two teams that have beaten the Vikings earlier this season in Seattle and Sacramento State.
 
The Eagles beat the Hornets 5-2 on Feb. 10 – their first win over the Hornets since 2008 – and beat Seattle 6-1 on Jan. 15. The Vikings, meanwhile, lost to the Hornets 6-1 on Jan. 28, and have lost to Seattle twice this season – both times by 4-3 scores.
 
Outside of the Big Sky tournament implications, though, the Vikings' match against the Eagles will also feature one of the most exciting individual matchups within the conference at the top of the singles lineup. Eastern Washington's Robert Dula and Portland State Nathan Boniel will likely face off against each other Friday, a year after Dula handed Boniel his only singles loss in 2016. Dula came back to beat Boniel in three sets, 4-6, 6-4, 7-5 last season, giving Boniel his only blemish on a 19-1 record that earned him Big Sky MVP honors at the end of the year.
 
Dula will head into his match against Boniel with a 3-2 record this season, while Boniel has upped his record to 4-3 following a two-match win streak.
 
Overall, the Eagles return five of the six players who played against the Vikings in singles last season, when the Eagles beat the Vikings 6-1 on their home court. Five of the six singles matches between the Eagles and Vikings last season went past two sets, and the score for the sixth match was 6-4, 6-4.
 
The Eagles also took the doubles point from the Vikings last season, and have been a strong doubles team so far this season despite changing around their doubles teams. The Eagles have played eight different doubles combinations in the four matches in which they played doubles (the Eagles didn't play doubles in their match against No. 18 Stanford), and have won the doubles point in three of those four matches. Additionally, the Eagles are a combined 8-4 in doubles this season.
 
The Vikings host the Eagles at 12 p.m. (PT) Friday at Club Green Meadows in Vancouver, Wash.
 
MATCH INFO:
Feb. 17 – vs. Eastern Washington – Vancouver, Wash. (Club Green Meadows) – 12 p.m. (PT)
 
FOLLOW THE VIKINGS ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Fans can follow the Portland State men's tennis team all year on Twitter at @ViksMTEN. Live updates from most home matches will be posted on that account. Fans can also find the Vikings on Instagram at @viksmtennis.
 
SCOUTING EASTERN WASHINGTON:
• The Eastern Washington Eagles (3-2, 1-0 Big Sky) have been off to a strong start to their season, and have already beaten two teams the Vikings have lost to so far in 2017. The Eagles beat Sacramento State 5-2 on Feb. 10, less than two weeks after the Hornets beat the Vikings 6-1 on Jan. 28. The Eagles also beat Seattle 6-1 on Jan. 15 – a team the Vikings have lost to twice this season, both times by 4-3 scores. The Eagles' win over Sacramento State was their first over the Hornets since 2008.
• The Eagles beat the Vikings 6-1 in Cheney, Wash., last season, though five of the six singles matches went past two sets. The Eagles improved to 6-2 with their win over the Vikings last season, but the bottom would soon fall out of the Eagles' season as No. 1 singles player Robert Dula got injured soon afterwards and the Eagles lost 16 of their last 18 matches of the season.
• Senior Robert Dula handed the Vikings' Nathan Boniel his lone loss in singles last season, as Dula came back from a set down to beat Boniel in three sets, 4-6, 6-4, 7-5. Dula entered the match with a 7-0 record, and ended the season at 8-1. Boniel, meanwhile, fell to 6-1 after his loss to Dula last season, but then won his final 13 matches of the season to finish the season 19-1 overall. Dula has started this season 3-2 in singles, and ranks 19th in the ITA Northwest region.
• Sophomore Victor Pereira has played four of the Eagles' five matches at line two, but did not play in the Eagles' last match against NCAA Division III Whitworth on Feb. 10. Junior Scot Paz played at line two in Pereira's place against Whitworth, after playing the Eagles' first four matches at line three. Pereira played at line one in doubles against Whitworth with Robert Dula, however, and the pair is 2-0 together so far this season.
• The Eagles have played eight different doubles teams across four different matches this season – the Eagles didn't play doubles against No. 18 Stanford – and are 8-4 combined as a team in doubles this season. Additionally, the Eagles have won the doubles point in three of the four matches in which they played doubles, including their win over Sacramento State in Big Sky play.
• The Eagles return five of the six singles players who played against the Vikings last season.
 
ALL-TIME SERIES VERSUS EASTERN WASHINGTON:
The Vikings are just 3-13 all-time against Eastern Washington going into their match Friday. The Vikings have lost their last seven against the Eagles, and have lost 10 of their last 11. The Vikings have twice lost 4-3 to the Eagles during their current seven-match losing streak, including during head coach Toby Krauel's inaugural season in 2014. The Vikings won the doubles point in that match in 2014, but dropped four of the six singles matches to lose, 4-3.
 
LAST TIME OUT:
The Vikings swept the matches at lines 1-3 in singles and won at the top line in doubles, but still lost to Seattle 4-3 last Saturday – their second 4-3 loss to the Redhawks this season. Junior Nathan Boniel and freshman Tommy Edwards swept their singles and doubles matches against the Redhawks, as they won 6-3 at line one in doubles, and then won at lines one and two in singles, respectively. Boniel beat Seattle's Trenton Nield 6-4, 6-3 at line one, while Edwards beat Seattle's John Stormans 6-3, 6-4 at line two. Both Boniel and Edwards also swept their matches against Seattle in the Vikings' first match against the Redhawks. Senior Ethan Lopez added a third win for the Vikings this time around, as he won a three-set match over Seattle's Matt Alderson at line three. Lopez ran out to a quick lead in the match with a 6-1 win in the first set, but then lost a close second set in a tiebreaker. Lopez returned to his dominant form in the third set, however, beating Alderson 6-2 in the frame to take their match, 6-1, 6-7 (5), 6-2.
 
UPCOMING:
The Vikings remain home for a match against Linfield next Thursday, Feb. 23. The Vikings will host the Wildcats at the St. Johns Racquet Center in Portland, Ore., at 5:30 p.m. (PT).
 
FRESHMAN PHENOMS:
Freshmen Tommy Edwards and Sam Larson have been two bright spots for the Vikings as a pair of first-year players in the Vikings' lineup. During the fall, Edwards was a finalist in the singles B flight at the Bulldog Classic, where he also won the consolation doubles title with partner Nathan Boniel. Now in the spring, Edwards ranks tied with Boniel for the team lead with four singles wins, all of which have come in straight sets. Edwards has also has gone 3-4 with Boniel at line one in doubles, and has moved up to line two in the Vikings' singles lineup behind Boniel. Larson, meanwhile, has gone 2-5 so far at line six in singles, and has also gone 2-4 with senior Ethan Lopez at line three in doubles. Larson's two wins at line six this season already rank him only three wins behind the single-season record for wins at the position with 11 matches left on the Vikings' schedule. Six different players currently rank tied for the single-season record for wins at line six, including Ian Risenhoover, who won five matches for the Vikings at line six last season.
 
BONIEL AND LOPEZ BATTLING AT THE TOP OF THE RECORD BOOKS:
A subtext to the Vikings' 2017 season has been the battle at the top of the record book between junior Nathan Boniel and senior Ethan Lopez. Both have a chance to break the career record for singles wins at Portland State, which currently stands at 28, shared between Chris Rice (2009-11) and Alex VanDerschelden (2008-11). Lopez and Boniel each moved into a tie for sixth all-time with 23 career singles wins after winning Saturday, putting them just five wins behind the current record. The two will also battle for the career record in Big Sky singles wins that their former teammate Ian Risenhoover set at 15 last season. Lopez ranks third all-time in Big Sky singles wins with 11 – four behind Risenhoover – while Boniel ranks tied for sixth with nine career Big Sky singles wins. Boniel and Lopez also stand first and third, respectively, in overall singles win percentage, with Boniel way out in front at .852 (23-4), while Lopez stands at .500 (23-23). Boniel is also chasing records at line one, where he currently stands second in career wins with 23 – five behind Chris Rice's record of 28. Additionally, Boniel currently holds the record for win percentage at No. 1 singles, as his win percentage of .852 (23-4) stands way out in front of Rice's old record of .509 (28-27).
 
NATHAN BONIEL, REIGNING BIG SKY MVP:
Junior Nathan Boniel has a tough act to follow after he completed the best individual season in program history in 2016, which culminated in him being named the Vikings' first Big Sky MVP in program history. Boniel broke five single-season school records while going 19-1 in singles in 2016, including the records for most wins in a season (19), most Big Sky wins in a season (9) and highest overall singles win percentage (.950). Boniel's only loss during the 2016 spring season came in three sets in a match where he led in the third set. Boniel has been off to a good start so far in defense of his MVP honors, as he won the Bulldog Classic Single A title during the fall, and was a finalist in the Dar Walters Fall Classic Singles A flight. Additionally, Boniel competed at the prestigious Oracle ITA Masters, where he upset a Pac-12 mixed doubles team in Nick Crystal of USC and Denise Starr of Cal, along with Idaho's Marianna Petrei. Both Crystal and Starr entered the match ranked in the top 10 nationally in men's and women's doubles, while Starr was the 2016 NCAA runner-up in women's doubles.
 
NEWCOMERS:
The Vikings added three true freshmen during the offseason in Tommy Edwards, Sam Larson and Majeed Bukhari, while redshirt freshman Yousef Abdo joins the fold after sitting out last season. Edwards had the best fall season of any of the four freshmen, as he made the championship match of the singles B draw at the Bulldog Classic, where he also won the consolation doubles title along with teammate Nathan Boniel. Edwards also competed in the junior draw at the Oracle ITA Masters, not representing Portland State, and advanced into the second round of the prestigious tournament. Bukhari, meanwhile, made the consolation finals of the singles B draw at the Bulldog Classic, and went 5-5 overall in singles during the fall.
 
2016 SEASON RECAP:
The Vikings completed the best season in program history last year, as the team set program records for overall wins (12), overall win percentage (.571) and Big Sky wins (5). The Vikings also challenged for a spot in the Big Sky tournament during the season, which would have been their first time ever making the Big Sky tournament. The Vikings stood 5-2 in Big Sky matches at one point, but an untimely injury to the Vikings' No. 2 singles player, Scott Goldner, precipitated a six-match losing streak that dropped the Vikings out of tournament contention. The Vikings still managed to set more individual records during the season, however, as departed senior Ian Risenhoover set the career record for career doubles wins at 39, while fellow departed senior Brent Wheeler finished second behind him with 38. Wheeler also set the record for most career wins by a doubles team with 22 with Ethan Lopez, and tied the record for most individual career wins at No. 1 doubles with 26. Risenhoover, meanwhile, left the program as the career leader in wins at No. 2 doubles, wins at No. 6 singles, Big Sky singles wins and Big Sky doubles wins. The big record-setter in 2016, however, was Nathan Boniel, who set five single-season records while becoming the program's first-ever Big Sky MVP at the end of the season. Boniel set the records for overall singles wins (19), overall singles win percentage (.950), Big Sky singles wins (9), wins at No. 1 singles (19) and win percentage at No. 1 singles (.950).