A repeat trip to the Big Sky Conference tournament is on the line this weekend for the Portland State men's tennis team, but in order to punch their ticket they will have to overcome an imposing obstacle that has tripped them up so far in 2019; winning on the road.

The Vikings (10-7/4-4 BSC) played the first five matches of the conference season at home, winning four of them and quickly getting into the postseason discussion. Since then, the Vikings have dropped three straight road matches in Big Sky play. Now, they take to the road again fight for the right to represent Portland State in Phoenix on April 25-27.

They will begin the trip on Friday in an afternoon match against Idaho State, a team that sits just a half a game ahead of the Vikings in the conference standings. Then they travel to Ogden for a match against Weber State, who is currently in last place in the conference.

The Bengals are undefeated at home and Weber State has a winning record as well. The same can be said of many Big Sky teams, proving Portland State isn't the only team that has struggled to get road wins this year.

As it stands, Portland State, Montana and Montana State are all tied for fifth place at 4-4. Idaho State, at 5-4, is in fourth place with just one match remaining.

For the Vikings, it is pretty straightforward; beat Idaho State and qualify guarantee a top six finish. Despite any other results, they would finish tied with Idaho State and one of the Montana schools but hold the tiebreaker after beating them all head-to-head.

The Montana schools each play second-place Southern Utah before facing off against each other this weekend, guaranteeing at least one team will have five losses. Theoretically, the Vikings could go 0-2 this weekend and still reach the postseason. But after some heartbreakers on the road, Portland State would like nothing more than to start a winning streak and earn their spot.

But this weekend is about much more than just winning on the road. They have never beaten the Bengals in nine attempts in Pocatello, hoping a program first would clinch a tournament spot. The odds are even further stacked against the Vikings on Sunday. Portland State is 0-19 all-time against the Wildcats, regardless of the venue. Last season, the Wildcats ended the Vikings' season at the Big Sky tournament.

Last weekend, Portland State lost a pair of 4-3 matches to Air Force and Northern Colorado. They played without Lucas Castelo Branco and Otto Holtari, who have both put together very impressive seasons, after the team was hit by the flu. In both matches, the doubles point went to the Vikings but they could only take two of the six singles matches.

Tommy Edwards continued a historic season and proved his versatility on the weekend. He stepped up into the No. 2 spot for the first time this year in replace of Castelo Branco, but that didn't stop his production. Edwards won both of his matches to improve to 13-4 on the year. His 13 wins are tied for the third most in a single season in Viking history.

The doubles pairing of Majeed Bukhari and Sam Roberts also made history this past weekend, going 2-0 to improve their season record to 11-3. After a six win season in 2018, they now have 17 career wins together, the most by a No. 3 doubles team in Viking history. They passed Alec Marx and Abhinav Mishra, who won 16 matches together from 2012-14.

Avery West and Matteo Fortini each picked up a singles win on the weekend as well, but the Vikings went a combined 1-7 on courts three through six. They will need to turn the bottom of the lineup back into their favor this weekend.

The Vikings could rise to the road challenge and enter the tournament as high as the No. 4 seed. Or, if the worst happens, they could fall as low as No. 8. The competition level in the Big Sky has been that great this season. The ultimate test now sits in front of Portland State, who are hoping that Sunday will bring with it a second-ever Big Sky tournament appearance.

SCOUTING IDAHO STATE (8-10/5-4 BSC)

-The Bengals are coming off a loss to Sacramento State last weekend on the road. They are a perfect 5-0 at home this season.
-Idaho State has played just six players in singles all season, and there haven't been too many highs or lows for the team. Four Bengals have nine wins while one has eight. They are near .500 at every line, putting out a solid team from top to bottom in every match.
-Francis Filipovich has been the best Bengal in conference play, going 6-3 in his nine matches.
-The Bengals have been great in doubles, led by David Felix and Gary Rendek who have gone 10-2 at No. 2 this year. They have won five straight matches.

ALL-TIME SERIES VS. IDAHO STATE

The Vikings are 5-10 all-time vs. the Bengals. Portland State is 0-9 all-time in matches played in Pocatello. The two teams have been incredibly competitive in recent years, splitting their last four matches. In three of those matches, just a single point separated the two sides.

SCOUTING WEBER STATE (4-16/2-6 BSC)

-The Wildcats enter on a nine-match losing streak, including six straight conference losses after starting Big Sky play 2-0. All four of their wins came in consecutive matches.
-Paul Ohde is 8-5 at No. 4 this season and is 6-2 in Big Sky matches. Kris Van Wyk is 5-4 at No. 1 as well, but they are the only two players with winning conference records.
-They have a .261 winning percentage in Big Sky doubles. Michiel Van Schoor and Van Wyk are 5-5 at No. 1 doubles to lead the Wildcats.

ALL-TIME SERIES VS. WEBER STATE

The Vikings are 0-17 all-time against Weber State, including a defeat in last year's Big Sky Tournament. They also lost the regular season meeting last season 4-3. For the record, the Vikings are 0-6 all-time in Ogden.

SUPER SEASON

There are two 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 Portland State records.

Tommy Edwards has 11 wins, tied for third most in a single season in PSU history. Matteo Fortini is having the seventh best season ever with 11 wins.

Currently, the Vikings have five of the nine best single season win percentages. Edwards is having the second-best season ever at .765. Otto Holtari sits in fourth at .700 followed by Lucas Castelo Branco at .667. Fortini (.647) is in seventh while Nikola Dimitrijevic (.615) is in ninth.

Going down the line, Fortini is enjoying the fifth-best season at No. 1 singles with eight wins. Castelo Branco is currently tied for second at No. 2 singles with eight wins. At No. 3, Edwards is enjoying the second-best season with eight wins. Dimitrijevic has five wins at No. 4 for the third best season. Sam Roberts is also tied for third-best at No. 5 with five wins.  Holtari is having the second-best season at No. 6 with six wins.

They are also closing in on records as doubles teams. Bukhari/Roberts have 11 wins together, tied for the third most in a single season by any team in Viking history. Edwards/West are also in the top 10 for total wins with nine.

At their respective lines, Edwards/West is having the fourth-best season with nine wins at No. 1. Castelo Branco/Fortini are having the second best with eight wins and are just one win away from having the most successful season ever as a No. 2 doubles team. At No. 3, Bukhari and Roberts are enjoying the best season ever by a pair of Vikings with 11 wins.

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 10-5 on the season in singles and 9-5 in doubles, playing mostly at No. 2 in both. He is currently fifth in school history with eight career wins at No. 2 singles and seventh with nine wins at No. 2 doubles. He has the third-best winning percentage (.643) at No. 2 doubles.

He and Fortini combined are t-2 in school history with eight wins as a No. 2 doubles team and also have the second best winning percentage (.727).

WESTWARDS!

The talented doubles team of Avery West and Tommy Edwards, nicknamed Westwards when playing together, officially became the winningest team in Portland State history with a 6-0 win against Pacific (4/5/19) and have 24 career wins together.

In 2018, 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).

Edwards (34), is in third place in doubles wins by an individual, and West (25) could crack into the top 10 as well. West is 11th all time with a 25-14 record.

The pair is also third in program history with 11 Big Sky doubles wins.

RECORD CHASERS

Tommy Edwards has moved into second all-time with 31 career singles wins. He is also third in school history in overall win percentage (.534), t-3 in Big Sky singles wins (14) and second in overall wins at No. 3 (15).

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-3 with eight wins at No. 1 singles, Castelo Branco is fifth with eight 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 eight wins on that line, tied for second most all-time.

Otto Holtari has held down the No. 6 line well this season. He is third in school history with eight 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 (.594, 2nd), Tommy Edwards (.534, 3rd), Avery West (.533, 3rd) and Sam Roberts (.462, 6th) have been some of the most efficient players in Viking history.

DREAM TEAMS

This season has seen Portland State play some of the best doubles in school history, and the record books reflect that. Edwards/West became the winningest team in program history with their 23rd win together on Apr. 5 against Pacific.

Edwards/West is already the most successful No. 1 doubles team of all time with 24 wins at the line, 11 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 eight wins together, tying them for second as a team. They trail the most successful No. 2 team ever, Goldner/Risenhoover, by just one win.

Bukhari/Roberts picked up six wins together last season and have 11 more already in 2019. They have now officially become the most successful team in program history at the No. 3 line with 17 total wins.

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.

TOMMY, BOY WONDER

Tommy Edwards has the most singles wins of any active Viking and is currently second on the all-time list with 31 wins. He has picked up 13 of his wins at the No. 2 line while 15 have come while playing No. 3. He is third in career wins at No. 2 and second at No. 3.

The junior from Hillsboro is also t-3 all-time in Big Sky singles wins with 14. He could rise as high as solo second place this season. Edwards also has the second best career winning percentage at No. 3 singles (.625) and the third best percentage at No. 2 (.393).

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 (.594) 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 at No. 6 this year. He has six wins in 2019 and seven in his career, putting him third 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.

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 an 11-5 record overall, 8-5 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 an 8-3 record while playing on court two and he also is 1-1 at No. 1. He also picked up another win at No. 2 while playing with Nikola Dimitrijevic.

Fortini is currently t-3 in school history with eight 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 nine and has the second best winning percentage (.750).

As a doubles team, Fortini/Castelo Branco are also t-2 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 8-5 with a 5-2 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.

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 51-69 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.