Complete Match Notes (PDF)

PORTLAND, Ore. — What's the best way to celebrate your first-ever berth into the Big Sky tournament? Throw a party, of course!
 
That's what the Portland State men's tennis team will do Saturday, as the Vikings host an exhibition alumni match Saturday at 2 p.m. at the West Hills Racquet and Fitness Club. The alumni match will be more relaxed than a regular spring dual match, and the Vikings will host a barbecue for all attendees after the match.
 
Serious preparation for the Big Sky tournament, April 26-28, at the Phoenix Tennis Center in Phoenix, Ariz., begins after that. The Vikings added a road match against Arizona Christian earlier this week, which will give them a preview of the venue in which they'll compete at the Big Sky tournament a few days later. The Firestorm play their home matches at the Phoenix Tennis Center that will host the Big Sky tournament, and the Vikings will play them Tuesday before opening the Big Sky tournament in the quarterfinals Thursday.
 
The Firestorm compete in its own conference tournament this weekend, as the team heads into the Golden State Atheltic Conference (GSAC) Tournament as the No. 1 seed after wrapping up its second straight GSAC regular-season title. The Firestorm open the tournament against Hope International Thursday in Indian Wells, Calif., with the final scheduled for Friday.
 
The Firestorm have unfinished business at the GSAC tournament, as it lost 5-4 in the final to Westmont last season. The Firestorm still advanced to the NAIA national tournament despite the loss, but lost 5-0 to William Woods in its first match.
 
The Firestorm return both of its All-GSAC team selections from last season in Alberto Lapiedra and Enzo Douillac, who also earned NAIA All-American second-team and honorable-mention honors, respectively. Lapiedra was also named the GSAC Newcomer of the Year last season, when he went 8-15 at line one.
 
Douillac and Lapiedra rank 16th and 23rd nationally in the NAIA in singles, respectively, while Daniel Superlano ranks 39th. Lapiedra and Superlano rank 13th nationally in doubles, while Douillac and Jesse Miritello rank 23rd. The Firestorm rank 11th nationally as a team in the NAIA.
 
A win over the Firestorm Tuesday would give the Vikings the program record for overall wins in a season, which they tied with their 12th win against Montana State on Friday. The Vikings also broke the school records for Big Sky wins (6) and road wins (5) with their win over the Bobcats, and guaranteed themselves the program's first winning record in Big Sky play.
 
More importantly, the Vikings showed the toughness in coming back to beat the Bobcats despite losing the doubles point. The Vikings have come back to win four matches after losing the doubles point, including three in Big Sky play. The Vikings had never beaten Montana State on the road before coming back against them Friday, and pulled the same feat for their first-ever road win over Eastern Washington earlier in the season.
 
Three of the Vikings' six Big Sky wins this season have come by 4-3 scores, and all those came over the three teams directly below the Vikings in the Big Sky standings – Montana State, Southern Utah and Eastern Washington.
 
Four different Vikings have clinched the Vikings' four, 4-3 comeback wins this season. Gabe Souza clinched the first one against Southern Utah on Feb. 16, while Tommy Edwards and Majeed Bukhari followed with the clinching wins against Seattle and Eastern Washington, respectively, on March 2 and 11.
 
Avery West served as the hero against Montana State on Friday, as he pulled out a back-and-forth match against the Bobcats' Rok Sitar at line two. All three sets of West's match went 12 games or more, with the third set going to a tiebreaker. Sitar went up 4-3 early in the third-set tiebreaker, but West won the final four points to pull out a 7-5, 5-7, 7-6 (4) win that clinched the dual for the Vikings.
 
The Vikings and Firestorm will open their match at 12 p.m. (PT) Tuesday.
 
MATCH INFO:
Saturday, April 21 – Alumni Match – Portland, Ore. (West Hills Racquet and Fitness Club) – 2 p.m. (PT)
Tuesday, April 24 – at Arizona Christian – Phoenix, Ariz. (Phoenix Tennis Center) – 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 ARIZONA CHRISTIAN:

• The Arizona Christian Firestorm (16-6), an NAIA school out of the Golden State Athletic Conference (GSAC), wrapped up its second straight GSAC regular-season title with a 5-1 conference record this season.
• The Firestorm's only loss in the GSAC came on the road against 13th-ranked San Diego Christian, who finished second to the Firestorm at 4-2 in GSAC play.
• The Firestorm will play in the GSAC tournament, April 19-20, before facing the Vikings on the 24th. The Firestorm will open the tournament against Hope International on Thursday, with the final scheduled for Friday. The Firestorm advanced to the final of the GSAC tournament last season, but lost 5-4 to 12th-ranked Westmont College.
• The Firestorm advanced to the NAIA national tournament despite losing in the GSAC final, but lost 5-0 to ninth-ranked Williams Woods in its first match.
• The Firestorm return both of its All-GSAC team selections from last season in Enzo Douillac and Alberto Lapiedra. Lapiedra also earned NAIA second-team All-American honors, and was named the GSAC Newcomer of the Year. Douillac, meanwhile, was named an NAIA honorable mention All-American.
• Douillac and Lapiedra rank 16th and 23rd nationally in the NAIA, respectively, in singles, while Daniel Superlano ranks 39th. Lapiedra and Superlano rank 13th nationally in doubles, while Douillac and Jesse Miritello rank 23rd. The Firestorm rank 11th nationally as a team in the NAIA.
• Marcelo Balderrama leads the team with 16 singles wins this season while playing predominately at lines four, five and six. Superlano ranks second to him with 15 singles wins while playing at lines two, three and four, and sports a team-best 15-4 singles record. Lapiedra ranks third on the team with 10 singles wins, and has gone 8-6 at line two this season.
• The Firestorm have been a strong doubles team this season, as ACU is 47-18 overall as a team. Douillac and Miritello lead the team with 14 doubles wins overall, and have an 11-6 record at line one. Balderrama and Santiago Galeffi rank second on the team with 12 wins this season, and have a 12-2 record at line three. Lapiedra and Superlano, meanwhile, sport an 11-2 overall record together this season, including a 9-1 record at line two.

 
ALL-TIME SERIES VERSUS ARIZONA CHRISTIAN:
This will be the first-ever meeting between the Vikings and Arizona Christian.
 
LAST TIME OUT:
The Vikings split their weekend road trip to Montana, beating Montana State 4-3 on Friday before losing to Montana 7-0 on Sunday. The Vikings came back to beat the Bobcats after losing the doubles point, the fourth time the Vikings have done that, including the third time in Big Sky play. The win over the Bobcats also gave the Vikings a program-record sixth Big Sky win of the season, as well as a program-record fifth road win. The Vikings had never beaten the Bobcats on the road coming into the match, and had only won one of their previous 12 meetings against the Bobcats. Avery West clinched the match, as he pulled out a narrow, three-set win over Montana State's Rok Sitar at line two. All three sets of West's match went 12 games or more, with the third set going to a tiebreaker. Sitar went up 4-3 early in the third-set tiebreaker, but West won the final four points to pull out a 7-5, 5-7, 7-6 (4) win that clinched the dual for the Vikings. Sam Roberts and Gabe Souza also won their matches at lines four and six, respectively, giving them the single-season records for wins at their respective positions in the lineup. Nathan Boniel also won in straight sets at line one.
 
UPCOMING:
The Vikings remain in Phoenix as they head into their first-ever postseason appearance at the Big Sky tournament, April 26-28, at the Phoenix Tennis Center. The Vikings will open the tournament in the quarterfinals against a yet-to-be-determined opponent.
 
MAKING HISTORY:
With Southern Utah's loss to Northern Arizona on Monday, the Vikings clinched their first-ever berth to the Big Sky tournament under the current format. The Vikings competed in the Big Sky Championships once before in 2003, but that was after earning an auto bid as the pre-determined tournament hosts. The Vikings qualified with a 6-5 conference record – the team's first winning record in Big Sky play in program history. The Vikings also set a program record with six conference wins, and have matched the program record for overall wins with 12 so far.
 
ROAD WARRIORS:
The Vikings broke a program record with their fifth road win of the season in their 4-3 win over Montana State last Friday. The Vikings had never beaten Montana State on the road before this season, and had only won once before in their 12 previous meetings with the Bobcats. The Vikings also won their first-ever road match at Eastern Washington on March 11, and nearly pulled off their first road win over conference power Idaho on March 9. The Vikings came back to beat the Bobcats and Eagles after losing the doubles point in both matches, and pulled off the same feat at Seattle on March 2.
 
COMEBACK KIDS:
The Vikings have come back to win a dual after dropping the doubles point four times this season, including last Friday against Montana State, which was the third time the Vikings had pulled off a comeback in Big Sky play. The Vikings' first comeback win came against Southern Utah, which won the doubles point and then ran out to a 3-1 lead on the Vikings in their match on Feb. 16. The Vikings came back to win the final three singles matches in three sets, however, with Gabe Souza clinching the match with a three-set comeback win at line six. The Vikings then lost the doubles point and fell behind 3-2 on the road against Seattle on March 2 before winning the final two matches to beat the Redhawks, 4-3. Tommy Edwards clinched the win for the Vikings that time with a three-set win at line three. The Vikings pulled the same feat against Eastern Washington on March 11, with Majeed Bukhari clinching the dual with a three-set win at line six. Avery West played the hero against the Bobcats last Friday, as he beat Montana State's Rok Sitar in a back-and-forth match at line two, 7-5, 5-7, 7-6 (4).
 
WESTWARDS FOREVER:
Avery West and Tommy Edwards, or Westwards as they have been named when talking about their doubles pairing, broke three different program records with their 14th win together at No. 1 doubles in the Vikings' match against Montana Sunday. Westwards broke the single-season records for overall doubles wins and wins at No. 1 doubles by a doubles team, as well as the career record for wins at No. 1 doubles. Westwards would also set the record for win percentage at No. 1 doubles by a doubles team if the season ended today, while both players tied Brent Wheeler for the most individual wins at No. 1 doubles in a single season. Westwards have beaten two nationally ranked doubles teams this season, both in Big Sky play. Westwards beat Idaho's Mark Kovacs and Carlos Longhi Neto 7-5 at No. 1 doubles on March 9, when Kovacs and Longhi Neto ranked 53rd nationally coming into the match. Westwards also beat Idaho State's Peter Trhac and David Felix 6-4 on Feb. 10, when Trhac and Felix ranked 50th in the nation. Westwards beat University of Portland's Mike Pervolarakis and Alex Wallace 7-5 on Feb. 3, as well, with Pervolarakis ranked 18th nationally in singles at the time. Westwards lead the Big Sky with their 14 doubles wins together this season.
 
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 (44), overall singles win percentage (.746), Big Sky singles wins (23), wins at No. 1 singles (44) and win percentage at No. 1 singles (.746). Boniel has been adding to those records this season, and has moved up the all-time doubles ranks as well. Boniel ranks fourth all time in overall doubles wins (29), and ranks fifth all time in overall doubles win percentage (.547). Additionally, Boniel ranks tied for fifth with 14 Big Sky doubles wins, and ranks in the top 10 all time for wins at lines one (T-10th, 9 wins), two (6th, 10 wins) and three (6th, 10 wins).
 
TOMMY BOY WONDER:
Sophomore Tommy Edwards has already established himself as one of the best doubles players in program history, less than two full years into his Viking career. Edwards already ranks third all time in overall doubles win percentage (.622), and ranks third all time in wins at No. 1 doubles with 23 in his career. Edwards also ranks tied for eighth all time with 12 Big Sky doubles wins in his career, and ranks third all time in win percentage at No. 1 doubles (.622).
 
RECORDS WERE MADE TO BE BROKEN:
Besides the doubles records Westwards have already broken or tied, the Vikings have also broken or would break the following single-season records:

• Sam Roberts broke the single-season record for wins at No. 4 singles (7).
• Sam Roberts would break the single-season record for win percentage at No. 4 singles (.467) if the season ended today.
• Gabe Souza tied the single-season school record for wins at No. 6 singles (6).
• Gabe Souza would break the single-season record for win percentage at No. 6 singles (.545) if the season ended today.
• Avery West would break the single-season record for win percentage at No. 3 singles (.727) if the season ended today.
• Tommy Edwards and Avery West would rank tied for the single-season record for win percentage at No. 1 doubles by an individual (.700) if the season ended today.

 
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.