A historic season for the Portland State men's tennis team finally came to an end in the final of the Big Sky Championships Saturday morning. The Vikings fell to top-seeded and undefeated Northern Arizona 4-0 in the championship match and finish the season at 14-8.

The Vikings broke single season records for wins in a year and finished with the best winning percentage in program history. This weekend also saw them win the first ever tournament matches in program history during the run to the championship match. They won 10-plus games in consecutive seasons for the first time in program history and have reached double-digit wins three times in the last four seasons.

All of this is to say; the future is bright on the Park Blocks. Portland State will lose two players who have been among the best in program history - Avery West and Lucas Castelo Branco - but return plenty of experienced players in 2020.

"I am so proud of this team," head coach Toby Krauel said. "They fought with incredible heart and class. They are true Vikings, true warriors and true gentlemen with unbelievable sportsmanship and heart."

The Lumberjacks were always going to be a tough challenge after finishing 10-0 in the Big Sky regular season and ending the season on a 17-match winning streak. But Portland State showed how fearless it is in the hot Phoenix heat.

Lucas Castelo Branco and Matteo Fortini continued a hot run of play by winning their fourth consecutive doubles match together 6-2 at No. 2. The win leveled up the doubles competition and left it up to the top teams, where Northern Arizona's Tim Handel and Ruben Montano edged out Tommy Edwards and Avery West 6-4 for the first point of the day.

Northern Arizona then jumped out to a lead after the first set in five of the six singles matches, but Lucas Castelo Branco took his opening set 6-2 to give PSU some life. Northern Arizona doubled the lead with a 6-2, 6-0 win at No. 3 singles and then made it 3-0 shortly after with a 6-1, 6-2 win at No. 6.

Castelo Branco fell behind in the second set, but still had the edge on his opponent. Matteo Fortini, meanwhile, had taken a lead on two-time defending Big Sky MVP Tim Handel in the second set. But the strength of the top-ranked Lumberjacks proved too much to overcome in the end.

Montano won 6-3, 6-4 at No. 5 singles for the clinching point for Northern Arizona, ending the record-setting season for Portland State.

It was a historic season for the team as well as for several individual players as the Vikings elevated the program to a level that had not been seen before on the Park Blocks. Edwards had the second best season with 15 wins, Fortini was tied for third with 14 wins and Castelo Branco was tied for fifth with 13 wins.

The Vikings also had some of the best individual seasons in program history for overall singles winning percentage. Castelo Branco (.737, 2nd), Edwards (.727, 3rd), Fortini (.714, 5th) and Nikola Dimitrijevic (.647, 7th) all finished near the top of the record book. Additionally, every single player cracked the top five for single season wins at their respective line.

Castelo Branco set new program records for wins (12) and winning percentage (.750) at No. 2 singles. Edwards set a new program record for wins (11) and had the second-best winning percentage (.688) at No. 3. Dimitrijevic had the second-best season at No. 4 with seven wins and while he came up two matches short of qualifying for winning percentage at the line he would have shattered the record even with losses.

Sam Roberts had the third best season at No. 5 singles with six wins and Otto Holtari also had the second-best season at No. 6 singles with six wins. Fortini's 12 wins at No. 1 were the fifth most in a single season, but he had the third-best winning percentage.

They also had three of the best doubles teams to ever come together at Portland State. In fact, the three teams all lead in career wins at their respective lines by a doubles team. Edwards/West and Castelo Branco/Fortini tied each other for single season doubles wins as a team with 12. Bukhari/Roberts finished tied for fifth overall with 11.

Edwards/West had the third-most wins at No. 1 doubles with 12, Castelo Branco/Fortini had the best season ever at No. 2 with 12 wins and Bukhari/Roberts also topped the record book with 11.

The season may have come to an end on Saturday, but the 2019 Portland State Vikings can certainly claim the title as best team in program history. Now, they will look to see if they can best it again next season.

MATCH NOTES: This was the Vikings' first appearance in the Big Sky Championship match … The Vikings are now 2-3 all-time in tournament matches … The Vikings trail the all-time series vs. Northern Arizona 2-15.