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GREELEY, Colo. — Two weeks after a painful, 4-3 loss to Montana State, the Portland State men's tennis team found itself on the other side of a 4-3 match Sunday, as the Vikings edged Northern Colorado on the Bears' home court for their first win over a Big Sky opponent this season.
 
Sunday's win marked the first time the Vikings (3-10, 1-5 Big Sky) had won in Greeley since 2010, and gave the Vikings their first win over a Big Sky opponent on the road since a 6-1 win at Southern Utah on April 17, 2015.
 
Additionally, Nathan Boniel won at line one in singles, giving the junior his record-breaking 29th career singles win that cements his legacy as the greatest Portland State men's tennis player of all time.
 
"Northern Colorado is tough to beat on the road, but these Vikings have continued to work hard every day despite injuries and close losses," PSU head coach Toby Krauel said.
 
The Vikings had lost four matches this season by 4-3 scores coming into Sunday, and had to fight to make sure they didn't lose a fifth to the Bears.
 
Doubles set the expectation that it was going to be a close match Sunday, as the Vikings pulled out a pair of close matches at lines one and three to take the doubles point. Senior Ethan Lopez and freshman Sam Larson won 6-4 over Northern Colorado's Kyle Pease and Alex Clerihew at line three, while Boniel and freshman Tommy Edwards closed it out with a 6-4 win at line one.
 
Boniel and Edwards trailed Northern Colorado's Alex Vakouftsis and Cassell King 1-4 at line one, and were down love-30 in their service game. Boniel and Edwards rallied from there, however, coming back to win their service game to start at a run of five straight games to close out the match.
 
Boniel and Edwards have now won seven straight matches together in doubles, and improved their mark in Big Sky matches this season to 5-1.
 
Edwards also mounted a dramatic comeback in singles, as he fell behind 0-5 in the first set to Pease at line two. Edwards came all the way back to win the first set in a tiebreaker, however, and then won the match in a close third set after breaking at 5-all in the final set. Edwards beat Pease 7-6, 4-6, 7-5, winning the first three-set match he's played during the dual season. Additionally, Edwards has now won six matches at line two this season, tying him for the fourth-best single-season win total at the position in school history.
 
Edwards' win gave the Vikings their third point in the dual, and Larson would close it out for the Vikings with a straight-sets win at line six.
 
It was only fitting that Larson clinch the dual for the Vikings, after he suffered three heartbreaking defeats in similar situations earlier in the season, including in the Vikings' last match against Montana State. Larson had a chance to serve out that match for the Vikings, but instead couldn't hold off a comeback as the Bobcats edged the Vikings, 4-3.
 
Facing a similar situation in front of a hostile crowd Sunday, Larson pulled through, beating Northern Colorado's Clerihew, 6-2, 6-3.
 
"Sam was steady today and his never-give-up attitude was too much for his less consistent opponent," Krauel said. "With the Bears players and fans screaming on Sam's court, he held his composure and brought home the fourth point.
 
"Earlier in the year, when Sam lost similar matches, I told him there were no losses, only lessons. He put those lessons to work today and brought us home."
 
With his win Sunday, Larson could be in position to chase his own records this season, as he now has three wins at line six, just two behind the single-season school record of five that six different players have accomplished, including assistant coach Vetu Mam.
 
The Vikings will chase more team wins down the stretch of the season, too, starting with their next match at Idaho State on March 31. The Vikings play the Bengals at 2 p.m. (MT) next Friday in Pocatello, Idaho.
 
Match Notes: The Vikings improve to 6-4 all-time against Northern Colorado with Sunday's win…Boniel's win Sunday gave him his 14th career Big Sky singles win, tying him for second all-time at Portland State and putting him just one behind the record of 15 that Boniel's former teammate, Ian Risenhoover, set last season.  

Portland State 4, Northern Colorado 3
Mar 26, 2017 at Greeley, Colo. (Work-Out West Tennis Indoor Courts) 

Singles competition

1. BONIEL, Nathan (PSU) def. VAKOUFTSIS, Alex (UNC) 6-3, 6-3

2. EDWARDS, Tommy (PSU) def. PEASE, Kyle (UNC) 7-6, 4-6, 7-5

3. CRAMER, Hayden (UNC) def. GOLDNER, Scott (PSU) 6-3, 7-6

4. LOMBARDI, Agustin (UNC) def. LOPEZ, Ethan (PSU) 4-6, 7-5, 6-1

5. KING, Cassell (UNC) def. ABDO, Yousef (PSU) 7-6, 6-4

6. LARSON, Sam (PSU) def. CLERIHEW, Alex (UNC) 6-2, 6-3

 

Doubles competition

1. BONIEL, Nathan/EDWARDS, Tommy (PSU) def. VAKOUFTSIS, Alex/KING, Cassell (UNC) 6-4

2. CRAMER, Hayden/LOMBARDI, Agustin (UNC) def. GOLDNER, Scott/ABDO, Yousef (PSU) 7-6

3. LOPEZ, Ethan/LARSON, Sam (PSU) def. PEASE, Kyle/CLERIHEW, Alex (UNC) 6-4

 

Match Notes

Portland State 3-10, 1-5 BSC

Northern Colorado 6-10, 3-5 BSC