Vikings Dominate Big Sky Opponents at Gonzaga Fall Invitational

In a field comprised of several Big Sky opponents, the Portland State men's tennis team had an impressive showing at the Gonzaga Invitational. The Vikings had two players make the consolation finals in the singles draws and saw two doubles teams reach the finals of their respective draws.

The Vikings finished with a 15-14 overall singles record and won 10 of the 14 matches they played against Big Sky opponents. They went 7-5 in doubles matches but had a winning record of 6-3 against Big Sky opponents in the doubles competition as well.

The Blue Draw saw newcomer Lucas Castelo Branco claim the consolation championship after he dropped his first match to the No. 2 seed in the tournament Sam Feit. Branco then fell down a set in his next match and looked like he may make an early exit, but rallied back for a three set win against Ludvig Hallgren from Montana.

He faced another Montana opponent in the next round, outlasting Ed Pudney 7-6 (5), 2-6, 1-0 (6) in a third set tiebreak. In the final, he won by retirement against Montana State's Alexander Fink.

In the same draw, Matteo Fortini, who has put together an impressive fall season so far, won his first round match. In the quarterfinals, Fortini fell 6-3, 6-1 to the No. 4 seed Ruadhan O'Sullivan.

Tommy Edwards had possibly the biggest single win of the weekend for the Vikings. In his opener against the No. 1 seed Hunter Egger in the Red Draw, Edwards grinded his way to the narrowest of victories. The two players went to a tiebreak in the first set, where Edwards won 7-4. In the second set, Egger evened things up by with a 7-5 set win. It all came down to the third set, where Edwards again won a close set 7-5 for the victory.

He fell in the quarterfinals to Stefan Lalovic from Boise State 6-2, 6-2.

In the same draw, Avery West picked up a pair of wins against Big Sky opponents before also falling to Lalovic in the semifinal match. West opened with a 7-5, 7-6 win against Pontius Hallgren from Montana.

In the quarters, West had a 6-7, 7-5, 6-2 win against an Eastern Washington opponent.

Nikola Dimitrijevic also made the semifinals in the Red Draw, making half of the final four Vikings. He also beat two Big Sky players on his way to the semifinals. He opened with a 7-6, 2-6, 6-3 win against Joaquin Espinoza from Montana State.

He cruised to a much easier 6-2, 6-2 win in the quarters against Manuel Balce from Eastern Washington. In the semifinals he fell to Issa Yoshida from Portland 6-2, 6-4.

The fourth and final Viking in the Red Draw also had great success, as Sam Roberts won a pair of matches and reached the consolation final. He had a straight-set 6-3, 6-1 win against R.J. Parker from Utah before a more challenging match against Espinoza from Montana State.

In a third set tiebreak, Roberts won 10-8 to advance to the consolation final. Once there, he fell to Pontius Hallgren from Montana 6-4, 6-2.

The Vikings also knocked off the No. 1 seed in the White Draw. Otto Holtari opened against Chase Stoner from Utah and beat his Pac-12 opponent 6-4, 7-5. Holtari knocked off Jack Yount of Montana 6-4, 6-1 in the quarterfinals. He finally fell in a close 7-5, 7-6 (4) match to Bryan Husin of Gonzaga.

Majeed Bukhari picked up a consolation win in the White Draw as well while Gabriel Souza advanced because of an injury to an opponent.

In the Blue Doubles draw, Fortini/Branco picked up a pair of wins and reached the final. They knocked off Benn/Korkh of Montana 8-6. They beat the No. 2 seed Neos/Oberg from Portland in the semifinals but fell to top-seeded O'Sullivan/Feit from Gonzaga in the final 8-4.

West/Edwards fell in their first match of the Red Doubles but bounced back with a tight 8-7 (5) win against a Montana State team to reach the consolation final. Once there, they defeated Field/Balce of Eastern Washington to claim the consolation championship.

The final White Doubles Draw saw two Vikings teams get three combined wins. Holtari/Dimitrijevic won 8-7 (3) in the first round against a Montana team. Roberts/Souza knocked off a pair of Montana State teams to reach the final of the draw. The two Vikings teams both lost to Mueller/Lajos of Eastern Washington.

The Vikings will wrap up the fall season at the Oregon Fall Invite next weekend in Eugene.

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Players Mentioned

Majeed Bukhari: Junior; 1L

Tommy Edwards: Junior; 2L

Otto Holtari: Sophomore; 1L

Sam Roberts: Sophomore; 1L

Avery West: Senior; 1L

Lucas Castelo Branco: Senior; TR

Nikola Dimitrijevic: Freshman; TR

Matteo Fortini: Sophomore; TR

Players Mentioned

Majeed Bukhari
: Junior; 1L

Tommy Edwards
: Junior; 2L

Otto Holtari
: Sophomore; 1L

Sam Roberts
: Sophomore; 1L

Avery West
: Senior; 1L

Lucas Castelo Branco
: Senior; TR

Nikola Dimitrijevic
: Freshman; TR

Matteo Fortini
: Sophomore; TR