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BOZEMAN, Mont.­­ — Narrow margins mean a lot in tennis.
 
Avery West clinched a 4-3, comeback win for the Portland State men's tennis team in a pivotal match against Montana State Friday by the narrowest of margins. All three sets of West's match went 12 games or more with West clinching the match with a 7-4 win in a third-set tiebreaker.
 
West's win gave the Vikings (12-8, 6-4 Big Sky) the victory over the Bobcats (4-11, 3-5 Big Sky) by the narrowest of margins, and leaves the Vikings the narrowest of margins short of clinching the program's first-ever berth into the Big Sky tournament.
 
The Vikings now only need to beat Montana on Sunday to clinch the team's first appearance in the conference tournament under its current format. The Vikings may have done enough to make the conference tournament by beating the Bobcats Friday, but will need to wait on other results if they don't beat the Grizzlies.
 
The Vikings still had plenty to celebrate in their win over the Bobcats Friday, even without a definitive word on their postseason fate. The Vikings set or tied a number of team records Friday, among them:
 

• Most Big Sky wins in a single season (6)
• Most overall wins in a single season (12, tied with 2016 team)
• Most road wins in a single season (5)
• Guaranteed winning record in Big Sky play (first in program history)

 
Additionally, Sam Roberts and Gabe Souza broke the single-season school records for wins at No. 4 and 6 singles, respectively.
 
Friday's win also marked the Vikings' first-ever road win over Montana State, and just their second win out of 13 total matches against the Bobcats. The Vikings had come close to victories over the Bobcats in their last two home matches, but lost 4-3 at home in 2015 and 2017.
 
The Vikings got their revenge for those closes losses Friday, though they did not get off to the start they wanted as the Bobcats clinched the doubles point with quick wins at lines two and three. West and Tommy Edwards led 6-5 in their match at No. 1 doubles, but their match was suspended once the Bobcats wrapped up the doubles point.
 
Roberts and Nathan Boniel climbed the Vikings out of the hole early in singles, as they won their matches at lines four and one, respectively, to put the Vikings up 2-1. Roberts only lost three games while beating Montana State's Adrian Torrico 6-3, 6-0. Roberts has won four of his last five singles matches, including three of his last four at No. 4 singles. Boniel, meanwhile, won a pair of tight sets against Montana State's Alexander Flink at line one, winning 6-4, 7-5.
 
The Bobcats went back up 3-2 in the dual with wins at lines three and five, but Souza dominated his match at line six to level the match at 3-all. Souza beat Montana State's Mateus Ceolin 6-2, 6-3, giving him his fifth straight singles win, four of which have come in straight sets.
 
That left the dual up to line two where West and Montana State's Rok Sitar were locked in a virtual dead heat. West won the first set off Sitar, 7-5, but Sitar matched him with a 7-5 win in the second. The third set went to a tiebreaker, and Sitar ran out to an early 4-3 lead. West won the final four points of the match, however, to complete the Vikings' comeback with a 7-5, 5-7, 7-6 (4) win.
 
The Vikings have now come back to win after losing the doubles point four times this season, including three times in Big Sky play. The Vikings came back to beat Southern Utah, 4-3, at home on Feb. 16, and then did it again to beat Eastern Washington, 4-3, on the road on March 11. Like the Bobcats Friday, the Vikings had never beaten the Eagles on the road before coming back to beat them this season.
 
Three of the Vikings' six Big Sky wins have come by 4-3 scores, and they've come against three teams – Southern Utah, Eastern Washington and Montana State – who all now have to chase the Vikings in the Big Sky standings.
 
If the Vikings clinch a Big Sky tournament berth with a win Sunday, it will be because of those wins, which all came by the narrowest of margins.
 
Portland State 4, Montana State 3
Apr 13, 2018 at Bozeman, Mont. (Bobcat-Anderson Tennis Center) 

Singles competition

1. BONIEL, Nathan (PSU) def. FLINK, Alexander (MSU) 6-4, 7-5

2. WEST, Avery (PSU) def. SITAR, Rok (MSU) 7-5, 5-7, 7-6 (7-4)

3. PARLKLO, Kasper (MSU) def. EDWARDS, Tommy (PSU) 4-6, 6-3, 6-2

4. ROBERTS, Sam (PSU) def. TORRICO, Adrian (MSU) 6-3, 6-0

5. ESPINOZA, Joaquin (MSU) def. HOLTARI, Otto (PSU) 6-1, 6-2

6. SOUZA, Gabe (PSU) def. CEOLIN, Mateus (MSU) 6-2, 6-3

 

Doubles competition

1. FLINK, Alexander/SITAR, Rok (MSU) vs. EDWARDS, Tommy/WEST, Avery (PSU) 5-6, unfinished

2. PARLKLO, Kasper/TORRICO, Adrian (MSU) def. BONIEL, Nathan/SOUZA, Gabe (PSU) 6-2

3. ESPINOZA, Joaquin/CEOLIN, Mateus (MSU) def. ROBERTS, Sam/BUKHARI, Majeed (PSU) 6-4

 

Match Notes

Portland State 12-8, 6-4

Montana State 4-11, 3-4

Order of finish: Doubles (2,3); Singles (4,1,3,5,6,2)

T-3:25 A-50