A week away from competition has the Portland State men's tennis team set for the second half of Big Sky play and the first conference road trip of the 2019 season. The Vikings will take on a pair of teams seeking a conference tournament berth in Southern Utah and league-leading Northern Arizona.

Portland State (9-3/4-1 BSC) is in the midst of one of the best seasons in school history and is seeking its 10th win this weekend. This would be the third 10-win season in the past four years for the Vikings. In the first 13 seasons as a program, the Vikings didn't have a single double-digit win season.

There could be more history on the line for the Vikings this weekend. Tommy Edwards and Avery West are one win away from becoming the most successful doubles team in Viking history. They currently sit at 22 wins together, tied with Ethan Lopez and Brent Wheeler.

The Vikings have already found success against other top teams in the conference. Portland State already has a 5-2 win against preseason No. 3 Idaho and a 4-3 win against No. 2 Montana. Now, Southern Utah (No. 4) and Northern Arizona (No. 1) will give the Vikings another tough test.

PSU currently sits in second place in the Big Sky Conference, trailing only unbeaten Northern Arizona. The Vikings should enter the road trip fresh, after having last seen action two weeks ago against Lewis-Clark State.

In the 7-0 sweep against the Warriors, head coach Toby Krauel reached his 50th career win, becoming the first men's coach in Portland State history to reach the milestone. He has constructed one of the deepest teams in school history.

The current Viking team now has at least one active player in the top five for career wins at all six lines. They are also closing in on having the most successful doubles team in program history at all three lines.

The road trip this weekend starts a run of five straight road Big Sky matches and six of the final seven matches overall on the road. The Vikings are seeking to reach the Big Sky tournament for the second consecutive season.

SCOUTING SOUTHERN UTAH (10-5/2-2 BSC)

-The Thunderbirds enter the weekend on a two match winning streak after defeating Chicago State and Idaho State at home last weekend. They are in the midst of an eight-match home stand, playing in their third consecutive match in Cedar City.
-SUU was picked fourth in the preseason Big Sky Coaches Poll, receiving one first place vote.
-Agustin Tamagnone was named Big Sky Player of the Week Jan. 23. He is 8-4 on the season and 5-2 while playing at No. 4. Salvador Mijares is 9-3 at No. 1 this season and currently on a two-match winning streak.
-Southern Utah has been dominant at No. 3 doubles this season with an 11-1 record. They also are 10-4 at No. 2.

ALL-TIME SERIES VS. SOUTHERN UTAH

Portland State leads the all-time series 6-0. They have won 4-3 the past two seasons and are 3-0 all-time in Cedar City. The Vikings won the previous meeting 4-3 in Cedar City on Feb. 16, 2018.

SCOUTING NORTHERN ARIZONA (8-6/4-0 BSC)

-The Lumberjacks are the only undefeated team in the Big Sky this season. They are tied with Portland State for the most conference wins with four.
-Tim Handel, a three-time selection on the All-Big Sky First team and two-time MVP, leads the Lumberjacks. He is 10-1 while playing at No. 1 this season and on pace to become the 10th player in conference history to make the team four times.
-NAU has a winning record at just one other spot in its lineup. Five different players have gone a combined 7-6 at No. 5.
-Doubles has been a strength for NAU. They have a winning percentage above .615 at all three spots this year, led by a 6-2 mark at No. 3.

ALL-TIME SERIES VS. NORTHERN ARIZONA

Portland State trails in the all-time series 2-13. The Vikings have lost the previous two meetings, including a 1-6 loss at home on Feb. 23, 2018, and are 1-4 all-time in matches played in Flagstaff.

TOMMY, BOY WONDER

Tommy Edwards has the most singles wins of any active Viking and is currently fourth on the all-time list with 27 wins. He has picked up 11 of his wins at the No. 2 line while 14 have come while playing No. 3. He is third in career wins at No. 2 and No. 3.

The junior from Hillsboro is also t-4 all-time in Big Sky singles wins with 12. He could rise as high as second place this season. Edwards also has the second best career winning percentage at No. 3 singles (.650) and the third best percentage at No. 2 (.393).

SUPER SEASON

There are still seven matches left in the 2019 season, and potentially matches to be played at the Big Sky Tournament, but there are several players closing in on single-season records.

Currently, the Vikings have four of the six best single season win percentages. Nikola Dimitrijevic has the second best season in school history so far with an .800 winning percentage. Edwards and Fortini are t-3 with a .750 winning percentage and Castelo Branco is sixth at .667.

Otto Holtari hasn't played enough matches to qualify yet, but could crack the top 10 as well if he keeps up his current pace.

Going down the line, Fortini is enjoying the seventh-best season at No. 1 singles with six wins. Castelo Branco is currently having the fifth-best season at No. 2 singles with six wins. At No. 3, Edwards is enjoying the fourth-best season with seven wins. Sam Roberts is also fourth-best at No. 5 with four wins.  Holtari is having the seventh-best season with four wins.

They are also closing in on records as doubles teams. Edwards/West is having the seventh-best season with seven wins at No. 1. Castelo Branco/Fortini are having the third best with seven wins and are just three wins away from having the most successful season ever as a No. 2 doubles team. At No. 3, Bukhari and Roberts are also having the third best season with seven wins.

THE FINNISH-ER

Otto Holtari, a sophomore from Espoo, Finland, has made himself into one of the best players in school history by taking advantage of opportunities at No. 6 singles this season. Holtari has the second best overall singles winning percentage (.600) in school history.

Holtari is t-2 in school history with eight career wins at No. 5 singles and has made a charge into the top 10 this year. He has five wins in 2019 and seven in his career, putting him t-3 all-time. He also has the best win percentage at No. 5 singles (.615)

He is also t-9 in school history with eight career Big Sky singles wins.

WESTWARDS!

The talented doubles team of Avery West and Tommy Edwards, nicknamed Westwards when playing together, return for their second year together after a historic debut season. The pair set single-season program records for overall wins (15), wins at No. 1 doubles (15) and win percentage at No. 1 doubles (.682).

Westwards have 22 wins together as a team, tied for the most in program history. They could break the record this weekend.

Edwards (32), is in third place in doubles wins by an individual, and West (23) could crack into the top 10 as well. West is tied for 11th all time with a 23-9 record.

The pair is also third in program history with nine Big Sky doubles wins.

DREAM TEAMS

This season has seen Portland State play some of the best doubles in school history, and the record books are starting to reflect that. Edwards/West could become the winningest team in program history with a victory this weekend. They are currently tied with Lopez/Wheeler at 22 wins as a team.

Edwards/West is already the most successful No. 1 doubles team of all time with 22 wins at the line, nine more than any other Viking pairing. They also have the best winning percentage (.667) at No. 1.

It might be their first season together, but Castelo Branco/Fortini are already making a run at being the most successful No. 2 team of all-time. They have seven wins together, tying them for third as a team. They trail the most successful No. 2 team ever, Goldner/Risenhoover, by just two wins.

Bukhari/Roberts picked up six wins together last season and have seven more already in 2019. They are alone in third place in school history for wins as a team at No. 3 and are just three wins away from the program record.

All told, the Vikings could have the most successful team in school history at its respective line all playing at the same time by the end of the season.

RECORD CHASERS

Tommy Edwards has moved into fourth all-time with 27 career singles wins. He is also t-4 in school history in overall win percentage (.509), t-4 in Big Sky singles wins (12) and second in overall wins at No. 3 (14).

Matteo Fortini, Lucas Castelo Branco and Nikola Dimitrijevic — all PSU newcomers — have already made their way into the record books for career wins. Fortini is t-5 with six wins at No. 1 singles, Castelo Branco is t-5 with six wins at No. 2 and Dimitrijevic is t-6 with five wins at No. 4.

Sam Roberts, in addition to being second with eight wins at No. 4, has moved into the top 10 at No. 5 this season. He has seven wins on that line, putting him in fifth overall.

Otto Holtari has held down the No. 6 line well this season. He is t-3 in school history with seven wins at No. 6 singles.

The Vikings also have four players currently in the top seven of the overall singles winning percentage category of the record book. Otto Holtari (.600, 2nd), Avery West (.519, 3rd), Tommy Edwards (.509, t-4th) and Sam Roberts (.500, 6th) have been some of the most efficient players in Viking history.

FORZA FORTINI

Italian sophomore Matteo Fortini didn't wait long to make a big impact for the Vikings. He put together an impressive fall season with a 7-5 record that included a run to the semifinals of the Dar Walters Fall Classic at Boise State.

In the spring, he has continued his run of stellar play. He has a 9-3 record overall, 6-3 at No. 1 singles. He also played three matches, all of which he won, at No. 2. In doubles, he and Lucas Castelo Branco have a 7-3 record while playing on court two and he also is 1-0 at No. 1.

Fortini is currently t-5 in school history with six wins at No. 1 singles. He is also t-10 with three career wins at No. 2 singles. Fortini is also in the top 10 for career wins at No. 2 doubles with seven and has the third best winning percentage (.700).

As a doubles team, Fortini/Castelo Branco are also t-3 with career wins as a team at No. 2 doubles and have the second best winning percentage.

DON'T MESS WITH DIMITRIJEVIC

Nikola Dimitrijevic has had a perfect start to his conference season and has improved all year long. The transfer from the University of Indianapolis has had an impressive season so far for the Vikings while playing anywhere in the lineup.

He is currently 8-2 with a 5-0 record in Big Sky play. Last week against Montana and Eastern Washington, he picked up a pair of wins while playing one match at both No. 3 and 4.

The singles specialist for the Vikings has made an instant impact in every Big Sky match. He is currently on a five-match winning streak and has won seven of his previous eight matches overall.

GO BRANCO GO

Lucas Castelo Branco has been an outstanding addition to the Viking program this year after transferring in from Oklahoma Baptist. The Brazilian native had his stellar play recognized with the Big Sky Conference Player of the Week honor on Feb. 20 after leading PSU to its first-ever win against two-time defending champs Idaho.

Castelo Branco is 8-4 on the season in singles and 8-3 in doubles, playing mostly at No. 2 in both. He is currently t-5 in school history with six career wins at No. 2 singles and t-7 with eight wins at No. 2 doubles. He has the second-best winning percentage (.727) at No. 2 doubles.

He and Fortini combined are t-3 in school history with seven wins as a No. 2 doubles team and also have the second best winning percentage (.700).

KRAUEL'S QUEST FOR 50

Head coach Toby Krauel, now in his sixth season at Portland State, has already earned more wins than any other coach in program history. At 50-65 all-time, Krauel is the only men's tennis coach in Portland State history with 50 career wins.

Krauel has helped lead Portland State to heights unseen before his arrival. The Vikings have put together the two most successful years in program history under his guidance with a 12-win season in 2016 and last year's 13-win campaign.

He is the third Viking tennis coach to reach the 50-win mark, joining current women's coach Jay Sterling (54) and former women's coach Shaun Ball (76).

STRENGTH IN NUMBERS

This season's iteration of Portland State tennis benefits from having talent in bunches. The Vikings have perhaps the deepest team in school history. There are 10 players currently on the roster with eight making an appearance already this season.

The amount of talent on the courts at practice sessions can only help the team grow as a whole.

"The depth is better than we've ever had here," Krauel said. "We could put our number eight guy at three and he would do fine. So that competition day in, day out in practice, these guys are really pushing each other… There are personal goals going on as well as team goals, and that competition just makes us so much stronger from top-to-bottom."

TOURNEY TEAM

In 2018, the Vikings made the Big Sky conference tournament for the first-time ever under its current format. This year, they are looking to build upon that success with another run at the Big Sky Championships held at the end of April in Phoenix, Ariz.  

In the Big Sky preseason poll, voted on by the conference's coaches, the Vikings were tabbed as a top-six team again. Portland State edged out Sacramento State by one point for sixth place. The top six teams qualify for the tournament, with the top two teams each receiving a first-round bye.

Krauel said that the conference is extremely deep, so each and every match will be crucially important.