Complete Match Notes (PDF)

PORTLAND, Ore. — The Portland State men's tennis has tied its best start to Big Sky play with a 3-1 record so far against conference opponents, and the hot start has the Vikings thinking about earning their first berth to the Big Sky tournament since 2003.
 
The major road block standing between the Vikings and a tournament berth, however, remains just that – the road. The Vikings were in a similar position in 2016, when they started the season 5-2 in Big Sky play, but then lost their last four conference matches all on the road to miss the tournament at 5-6.
 
The Vikings did not win a Big Sky road match at all in 2016, but snapped their bad luck on the road when they beat Northern Colorado, 4-3, on March 26 last season. That marked the Vikings' first win over a Big Sky opponent on the road since beating Southern Utah 6-1 on April 17, 2015. The Vikings followed up the win over the Bears with another road win over Southern Utah on April 9 last season, which was the team's last Big Sky road match before opening their conference road slate this weekend.
 
The Vikings have a difficult conference road opener awaiting them, as they play Idaho – the defending Big Sky tournament champion – Friday in Lewiston, Idaho. The Vandals have won two of the last three Big Sky tournament titles since they rejoined the conference before the 2015 season.
 
The Vandals return all six of the players who played for them in last season's Big Sky tournament final against Montana. The Vandals return both of their All-Big Sky first-team singles selections in Mark Kovacs and Felipe Fonseca, while Kovacs and Carlos Longhi Neto earned All-Big Sky first-team honors in doubles last season. Longhi Neto also earned All-Big Sky second-team honors in singles.
 
Kovacs and Longhi Neto rank 53rd nationally in doubles together this season, and the two have played at lines one and two in singles. Longhi Neto supplanted Fonseca for the No. 2 spot in the Vandals' singles lineup, though Fonseca has been a dominant singles player in Big Sky play throughout his career. Fonseca went 8-3 in Big Sky play as a freshman in 2015, and has only lost once in a Big Sky match since then. Fonseca went unbeaten at 11-0 against Big Sky opponents last season, and has started this season 3-0 as well.
 
Things won't get easier for the Vikings in their second conference road match of the weekend, as they travel to face Eastern Washington on the road Sunday. The Vikings have never beaten the Eagles on the road, and the Eagles are 4-0 in home matches so far this season.
 
The Eagles have a veteran team with four seniors, though they lost their No. 1 player in Robert Dula, who was named to the All-Big Sky first team after each of the past two seasons.
 
Scott Paz has taken over the top spot for the Eagles, after he earned All-Big Sky honorable mention in singles last season. Paz has gone 7-3 overall and 3-1 in Big Sky play at No. 1 singles, and has also played at the top spot in doubles along with fellow senior Flavien Raveau.
 
The Vikings will open the weekend with a non-conference match Thursday against Lewis-Clark State out of the NAIA at 8 a.m. (PT). The Vikings will play the Warriors in Lewiston, Idaho, and remain in Lewiston for their match against Idaho the next day.
 
MATCH INFO:
Thursday, March 8 – at Lewis-Clark State – Lewiston, Idaho (LCSC Tennis Center) – 8 a.m. (PT)
Friday, March 9 – at Idaho – Lewiston, Idaho (LCSC Tennis Center) – 6:30 p.m. (PT)
Sunday, March 11 – at Eastern Washington – Cheney, Wash. (Jim Thorpe Fieldhouse) – 12 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 LEWIS-CLARK STATE:

• The Lewis-Clark State Warriors (1-3) out of the NAIA have already played three Big Sky Conference teams this season in Southern Utah, Idaho State and Montana. The Warriors lost 7-0 to both Southern Utah and Montana, and lost 5-2 to Idaho State. The Warriors' one win so far this season came over NCAA Division III Whitworth, which they beat 9-0 at home on Feb. 24.
• The Warriors went 2-12 overall last season, with one of their wins coming over fourth-seeded Biola, 5-2, in the Golden State Athletic Conference tournament quarterfinals. The Warriors lost 5-1 to Arizona Christian in the semifinals of the GSAC tournament, however.
• The Warriors have a young roster with only two seniors and one junior to go along with six freshmen and three sophomores.
• Senior Ignacio Salom ranks 15th in the NAIA in singles, while junior Alexandre D'Aboville ranks 19th. Salom and freshman Guilherme Medeiros also rank ninth in the NAIA in doubles.

 
ALL-TIME SERIES VERSUS LEWIS-CLARK STATE:
The Vikings have won three matches in a row against Lewis-Clark State and lead the all-time series between the two teams, 3-1. The Vikings have split their matches against the Warriors on the road, and beat the Warriors, 4-3, in their last road match in 2013.
 
SCOUTING IDAHO:

• The Idaho Vandals (3-3, 3-0 Big Sky) have won three matches in a row – all against Big Sky opponents – coming into their match against the Vikings. The Vandals have beaten North Dakota, Northern Colorado and Weber State in their last three matches, all by 6-1 scores.
• The Vandals won their second Big Sky tournament title in the past three years last season, beating Montana 4-0 in the finals. The Vandals placed second in the Big Sky during the regular season last year while going 16-8 overall and 9-2 against conference opponents. The Vandals played No. 16 Stanford in the first round of the NCAA tournament, but lost 4-0.
• The Vandals return all six players who played for them in the Big Sky tournament championship match last season. The Vandals return both of their All-Big Sky first-team singles selections in Mark Kovacs and Felipe Fonseca, who went 13-7 and 17-2 at lines one and two, respectively, last season. Kovacs and Carlos Longhi Neto also earned All-Big Sky first-team honors in doubles last season, when they went 17-3 overall at line one and 8-1 in Big Sky play. Additionally, Longhi Neto was named to the All-Big Sky second team in singles, after going 13-4 at line three last season.
• Kovacs and Longhi Neto come into the weekend ranked 53rd in the nation in doubles by the ITA.
• Longhi Neto has supplanted Fonseca at line two so far this season, with Kovacs returning at line one. Fonseca has played at line four so far this season, behind Guilherme Scarpelli, who has gone 3-0 in Big Sky play while playing at line three.
• As a team, the Vandals are 15-3 in Big Sky play in singles so far this season, a year after they went 51-15 against Big Sky opponents as a team. Four different players were 8-2 or better in Big Sky play last season, while Fonseca went unbeaten at 11-0 against Big Sky opponents.

 
ALL-TIME SERIES VERSUS IDAHO:
The Vandals have owned the Vikings whenever they've played them, as they've won all 13 of their previous matches against the Vikings. Seven of the Vandals' 13 wins against the Vikings have been by 7-0 scores, and three of the other six came by 6-1 scores.
 
SCOUTING EASTERN WASHINGTON:

• The Eastern Washington Eagles (6-5, 2-2 Big Sky) have split their four Big Sky matches so far this season, as they've beaten North Dakota and Weber State, 4-3, but lost to Northern Colorado and Sacramento State, 4-3 and 6-1, respectively. The Eagles also played a non-conference match against Montana State, and beat the Bobcats, 5-2.
• The Eagles also share a common opponent with the Vikings in Seattle University, which the Vikings have beaten twice this season including on the road last weekend. The Eagles beat the Redhawks 4-3 at home, where they are 4-0 this season.
• The Eagles have a veteran team with four seniors and a junior returning to go along with two sophomores and two freshmen. The Eagles lost Robert Dula off last year's team, however, after Dula was a two-time All-Big Sky first-team selection. Dula and Victor Pereira – a senior this season for the Eagles – also earned All-Big Sky honorable mention in doubles. Scott Paz, another senior for the Eagles this season, earned All-Big Sky honorable mention in singles last season, as well.
• Paz has played at line one for the Eagles so far this season, and has gone 7-3 overall at the top spot in the lineup and 3-1 in Big Sky play. Junior newcomer Jeremy Field and senior Flavien Raveau have split time at lines two and three in singles, and the pair are 3-1 and 2-2, respectively, in Big Sky play. Freshman Martin Bats is also 2-2 in Big Sky play while playing everywhere from lines three through six this season.
• Paz and Raveau have played at No. 1 doubles for the Eagles, and are 8-3 overall and 3-1 in Big Sky play together so far this season. The Eagles are 4-7 as a team at lines two and three in doubles.

 
ALL-TIME SERIES VERSUS EASTERN WASHINGTON:
The Vikings have lost eight straight to the Eagles, and trail the all-time series between the two teams, 14-3. The Vikings last beat the Eagles in 2010, when they won 4-3 at home. The Vikings also beat the Eagles in 2002 and 2003, both times by 4-3 scores. The Vikings are 0-7 all time against the Eagles when playing away from home.
 
LAST TIME OUT:
The Vikings split a road trip in Seattle last weekend, coming back to beat Seattle University, 4-3, on Friday, before losing 7-0 to then-No. 47 Washington on Saturday. The Vikings came back to beat the Redhawks after losing the doubles point and falling behind 3-2 in the dual at one point. Tommy Edwards clinched the dual for the Vikings with a three-set win at line three, beating Seattle's Emilio Monroy for his second straight win in singles. Edwards and Monroy split a pair of tight sets to open their match, with Edwards winning 7-5 in the first while Monroy won the second in a tiebreaker, 7-6. Edwards cruised in the decisive third set, as he ran away with a 7-5, 6-7, 6-1 win. Sam Roberts also came back to win a three-set match at line five, as he lost the first set to Seattle's Matt Alderson, 6-1, but then cruised in the next two sets for a 1-6, 6-1, 6-1 win. Nathan Boniel and Majeed Bukhari, meanwhile, won in straight sets at lines one and six, respectively. Boniel beat Seattle's Arshak Ghazaryan 6-3, 6-1, while Bukhari beat Seattle's Alex Chan, 6-2, 6-4. Bukhari also took a set off UW's Joao Barra at line six in the Vikings' match against the Huskies Saturday. Bukhari beat Barra 6-3 in the second set, but then lost the third set by the same score to fall 6-1, 3-6, 6-3. Boniel and Gabe Souza also gave the Vikings a win at No. 2 doubles against the Huskies, beating UW's Alexis Alvarez and Mitch Stewart, 6-4.
 
UPCOMING:
The Vikings have a week off before returning home for a match against Weber State Friday, March 23. The Vikings will host the Wildcats at Club Green Meadows in Vancouver, with first serve set for 2 p.m. (PT).
 
DOUBLE THE SUCCESS IN DOUBLES:
Nathan Boniel and Gabe Souza have emerged as a strong No. 2 doubles team for the Vikings of late, giving the team two strong doubles teams this season to go along with Tommy Edwards and Avery West at No. 1 doubles. Boniel and Souza have won four of their last five matches together, and have risen up to line two in the Vikings' doubles lineup. Boniel and Souza have won seven matches together this season between three wins at line two and four wins at line three. Their seven wins rank them one behind Edwards and West, who lead the team with eight wins together, all coming at line one. Edwards and West's eight wins at line one already rank them tied for fifth all time as a doubles team – just five wins behind the single-season and career records Ethan Lopez and Brent Wheeler set with 13 wins in 2016.
 
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 (39), overall singles win percentage (.780), Big Sky singles wins (20), wins at No. 1 singles (39) and win percentage at No. 1 singles (.780). Boniel has been adding to those records this season, and has moved up the all-time doubles ranks as well. Boniel has moved into a tie for ninth all time in overall doubles wins (25), and ranks third all time in overall doubles win percentage (.556). Additionally, Boniel ranks tied for seventh with 12 Big Sky doubles wins, and ranks in the top 10 all time for wins at lines one and three.
 
TOMMY BOY WONDER:
Sophomore Tommy Edwards is just over a year into his Viking career, but has peppered his name throughout the Vikings' record book in his short career, particularly in doubles. Edwards already ranks second all time in overall doubles win percentage (.586), and ranks fourth all time in wins at No. 1 doubles with 17 in his career. Edwards also moved into the top 10 for Big Sky doubles wins with the eighth of his career in the Vikings' win over Northern Colorado on Feb. 24. Additionally, Edwards ranks fourth all time in win percentage at No. 1 doubles at .586.
 
WINS ARE BECOMING OTTO-MATIC:
Freshman Otto Holtari had his six-match win streak in singles snapped with a pair of losses last weekend, but still leads the Vikings with eight wins this season. Holtari started the season playing at line six for the Vikings, but has moved up to line four with his strong play. Holtari won five of his six matches at line five, which moved him into a tie for fourth all time for wins at the position.
 
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.