Complete Match Notes (PDF)

PORTLAND, Ore. — A year and a half after the split of Brangelina, there's a new pairing to lead us all. Tommy Edwards and Avery West – or Westwards as they will henceforth be named – have won four of their first five doubles matches in 2018 for the Portland State men's tennis team, including an upset of the University of Portland's No. 1 team last Saturday.
 
Westwards beat UP's Mike Pervolarakis and Alex Wallace, whose only other loss in doubles came against Old Dominion's No. 1 team that was ranked 22nd nationally by the ITA at the time. Pervolarakis also came into Saturday's match ranked 18th in the nation in singles, and was named the 2017 WCC Player of the Year after leading the Pilots to their first-ever WCC regular-season title.
 
The Vikings will need more brilliance from Westwards in the their next match, as Idaho State comes in Saturday for what will be the Vikings' first Big Sky match of the 2018 season.
 
The Bengals have their own stud doubles team in David Felix and Peter Trhac, who will enter Saturday's match ranked 50th in the nation by the ITA. Felix and Trhac earned the national ranking after making the finals of the doubles draw at the ITA Mountain Regionals back in October, where they lost to another Big Sky team in Northern Arizona's Tim Handel and Ruben Montano.
 
Felix and Trhac's run to the finals earned them an at-large berth into the 2017 Oracle ITA National Fall Championships, where they advanced to the round of 16. Felix and Trhac are unbeaten so far during the 2018 dual season, having won both of their matches together at No. 1 doubles.
 
The Bengals won their Big Sky opener against Southern Utah on Jan. 28, which was the last match they played before sitting idle last weekend. The Bengals won the doubles point behind victories at lines one and two against the Thunderbirds, and won four of the six singles matches.
 
Trhac and Felix played at lines one and two in singles for the Bengals, respectively, leading a newcomer-heavy lineup against the Thunderbirds. The Bengals brought in three transfers and a freshman after losing five seniors off last year's team, and three of those four played singles against the Thunderbirds, while the fourth played in doubles.
 
The Bengals had a lot to replace during the offseason after making the Big Sky tournament for the first time since 2013 last season. The Bengals lost four of their top five players to graduation following last season, including their entire top three.
 
No matter who plays, Saturday's match is likely to be close, as the Vikings and Bengals have played three straight 4-3 matches against each other, with the home team winning each time.
 
The Vikings won a classic at home during the 2016 season, when they held off a ferocious Bengal comeback for a 4-3 win. The Bengals came back from an early 3-1 deficit in the dual to level things at 3-3, and took a 3-0 lead in the third set of the final match at No 6 singles. Viking senior Ian Risenhoover won the final six games at line six, however, flipping the match back to the Vikings with a 5-7, 6-3, 6-3 win.
 
The Bengals returned the favor last season, beating the Vikings 4-3 in Pocatello, Idaho. The Vikings swept all three matches in the top half of the singles lineup, but the Bengals won all three matches in the bottom half as well as the doubles point to edge out the Vikings.
 
The Vikings have gotten better production out of the bottom half of their singles lineup so far this season. The Vikings are 11-9 so far this season at lines three through six – a year after they went 19-53 outside of the top two spots in the lineup.
 
The Vikings and Bengals will start their match at 2 p.m. (PT) Saturday at Club Green Meadows in Vancouver, Wash.
 
MATCH INFO:
Saturday, Feb. 10 – vs. Idaho State – Vancouver, Wash. (Club Green Meadows) – 2 p.m. (PT)
 
FOLLOW THE VIKINGS ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Fans can follow the Portland State men's tennis team all year on Twitter and Instagram at @psuviksMTN. Live updates from most home matches will be posted on that account.
 
SCOUTING IDAHO STATE:

• The Idaho State Bengals (2-2) won their Big Sky opener with a 5-2 win over Southern Utah on Jan. 28. The Bengals have been idle since then, though they'll return to action with a match at NCAA Division III Willamette University Friday, before facing the Vikings Saturday.
• The Bengals clinched a berth into the Big Sky tournament for the first time since 2013 last season, sealing their trip with a 4-3 win over rival Weber State on the final day of the regular season. The Bengals lost 4-0 to fourth-seeded Montana in the quarterfinals of the conference tournament, but still finished the year 12-9 overall and 7-4 in Big Sky play.
• The Bengals lost five seniors off last year's team, including four of their top five players in Sebastian Edin (8-6 at No. 1), Quentin Wacquez (8-6 at No. 2), Josh Goodwin (7-9 at No. 3) and Bjorn Scheepbouwer (12-6 at No. 5). The Bengals return Francis Filipovich, who went 10-5 at No. 4 singles last season, as well as Keegan Sullivan, who went 7-8 at No. 6 singles. William Edin, who went 7-12 at No. 2 singles in 2016, also returns after an injury forced him out for all of last season.
• The Bengals brought in three transfers in senior Adam Hornby and juniors David Felix and Peter Trhac, and added freshman Austin Gwilliam to fill out the roster.
• Felix and Trhac rank 50th in the nation in doubles by the ITA, after making the finals of the doubles draw at the ITA Mountain Regionals in October. Felix and Trhac lost to Tim Handel and Ruben Montano of Northern Arizona in the finals, but earned an at-large berth into the 2017 Oracle ITA National Fall Championships, where they advanced to the round of 16. Felix and Trhac are unbeaten in two matches so far during the dual season.

 
ALL-TIME SERIES VERSUS IDAHO STATE:
The Vikings and Bengals have played three straight 4-3 matches with the teams alternating victories at home. Idaho State won 4-3 at home in 2015 and 2017, while the Vikings pulled out a 4-3 win at home in 2016. The dual in 2016 was tied 3-3 when Viking senior Ian Risenhoover overcame a 3-0 deficit in the third set to win the final six games of a 5-7, 6-3, 6-3 victory at line six that delivered a 4-3 win for the Vikings.
 
LAST TIME OUT:
The Vikings split their doubleheader last Saturday, losing 7-0 to a dominant University of Portland team before beating Linfield 7-0 later in the day. The 7-0 score line against the Pilots hid some of the Vikings' successes, none bigger than the Vikings' win at No. 1 doubles. Sophomore Tommy Edwards and junior newcomers Avery West beat UP's Mike Pervolarakis and Alex Wallace 7-5 at No. 1 doubles, handing Pervolarakis and Wallace just their second loss of the season. Pervolarakis and Wallace's only other loss came against Old Dominion's No. 1 team that came into the match ranked 22nd nationally by the ITA in doubles. Additionally, Pervolarakis came into Saturday's match as the 18th-ranked singles player nationally, and was named the 2017 WCC Player of the Year. West also won the first set of his match at No. 3 singles, but couldn't hold off UP's Pierre Garcia over the final two sets and lost 4-6, 6-1, 6-3. Freshman Sam Roberts took a set off UP's Carlos Donat at line four, but lost in a 10-point match tiebreaker 6-4, 3-6, 1-0 (10-8). The Vikings breezed through their match against Linfield, meanwhile, as the Vikings won all 12 sets in singles by 6-3 scores or better, and won all three doubles matches at 6-2 or better. Senior Nathan Boniel did not drop a game in either singles or doubles, while West joined him with a 6-0, 6-0 win at No. 3 singles. Roberts lost the first game of his match at No. 4 singles, but then won 12 straight games to win his match 6-1, 6-0.
 
UPCOMING:
The Vikings host two matches next weekend at Club Green Meadows in Vancouver, Wash. The Vikings host Southern Utah for a conference match at 1 p.m. Friday, and then host Army in a non-conference match at 2 p.m. Saturday.
 
BONIEL'S ASSAULT ON THE PSU RECORD BOOKS:
Senior Nathan Boniel has established himself as the best singles player in the history of the Portland State men's tennis program with the records for overall singles wins (35), overall singles win percentage (.814), Big Sky singles wins (17), wins at No. 1 singles (35) and win percentage at No. 1 singles (.814). Boniel has been adding to those records this season, and has moved up the all-time doubles ranks as well. Boniel has moved up to 10th all time in overall doubles wins with 21 now in his career. Additionally, Boniel ranks third all time in both overall doubles win percentage (.553) and win percentage at No. 3 doubles (.643), and ranks tied for sixth with nine career wins at No. 3 doubles. Boniel also ranks tied for ninth all time with nine wins at No. 1 doubles, and ranks fifth with a .529 career win percentage at No. 1 doubles.
 
TOMMY BOY WONDER:
Sophomore Tommy Edwards became eligible for the career ranks in overall singles win percentage after the Vikings' match against Puget Sound on Jan. 26, and immediately jumped up to second all time behind teammate Nathan Boniel with an all-time win percentage of .522. Edwards has peppered his name throughout the Vikings' record book in his short career so far, as he ranks tied for the all-time lead in win percentage at No. 2 singles (.500), and third all time in wins at No. 2 singles (10). Edwards has been an even more dominant doubles player, however, as he ranks second all time in overall doubles win percentage (.591), and third all time in win percentage at No. 1 doubles (.591). Edwards also ranks tied for fourth all time with 13 career wins at No. 1 doubles, half way to the all time record of 26 that Chris Rice (2009-11) and Brent Wheeler (2013-16) currently share.
 
WESTWARDS – THE CELEBRITY COUPLE NAME WE CAN BELIEVE IN:
First there was Bennifer. Didn't last. Then there was TomKat. Didn't last. Brangelina. Didn't last. But with Tommy Edwards and Avery West teaming up for the Vikings in doubles – Westwards as they will hence forth be named – give us a pairing to believe in. Westwards have won four of their five doubles matches together this season, with their only loss coming in their first match of the season against Oregon's Armando Soemarno and Charles Roberts. Westwards has won four straight matches since then, including a 7-5 upset of the No. 1 team from the University of Portland last Saturday. Westwards beat UP's Mike Pervolarakis and Alex Wallace, whose only other loss in doubles came against Old Dominion's No. 1 team that was ranked 22nd nationally by the ITA at the time. Pervolarakis also came into UP's match against the Vikings ranked 18th by the ITA in singles, and was named the 2017 WCC Player of the Year.
 
2017 SEASON RECAP:
Nathan Boniel had another stellar season – going 13-5 at line one and 8-3 in Big Sky matches – but the Vikings finished 4-14 overall and 2-9 in Big Sky play, and never challenged for a spot in the Big Sky tournament like they did in 2016. Tommy Edwards boosted the Vikings with his play as a freshman at line two, where he went 8-7 while playing against much older players. Edwards also went 6-5 in Big Sky play, and teamed up with Boniel to go 9-8 while playing at line one doubles together during the season.