VANCOUVER, Wash. – In the first match at the Vancouver Tennis Center, the Portland State men's tennis team battled against a tough Santa Clara squad, falling 5-2 on Sunday afternoon at the Vancouver Tennis Center.
 
The Vikings drop to 0-3 on the season while Santa Clara picks up its second win of the season to improve to 2-3.
 
Tommy Edwards and Sam Roberts highlighted the doubles matches for the Vikings as they downed Santa Clara's 52^nd-ranked duo of Arthur Neuhaus and Vasileious Iliopoulus 6-4. Down, 2-1, Edwards and Roberts battled back to tie the match 3-3 before taking their first lead at 4-3. Both teams continued to trade off sets before Edwards and Roberts put the match away for their first win of the season as a team.
 
"We knew going in that [Santa Clara] was going to be tough but Sam and Tommy played really well today," said Head Coach Vetu Mam. "We worked on being more of a team out there and moving together, setting each other up, and it definitely showed out there."
 
Santa Clara won the doubles point, winning the No. 2 and No. 3 matches 7-5 and 6-0 respectively to take an early lead in the dual.
 
Edwards followed up his doubles performance with a 7-5, 6-3 win at the No. 2 spot, defeating SCU's Jesus Barajas to tie the dual at one point each.
 
The Broncos regained the lead, as Iliopoulus defeated Roberts in the No. 4 singles match, winning 6-3, 6-1 to give Santa Clara a 2-1 advantage.
 
Matteo Fortini faced off against Santa Clara's top player in Neuhaus, jumping ahead to a 6-4 win in the opening set before holding off Neuhaus in the second, winning 7-5 and tying the dual once again at 2-2.
 
Playing in the longest match of the day, Nikola Dimitrijevic dropped a heartbreaker at No. 3, losing the first set 6-4 before bouncing back to tie with a 6-3 win in the second. Surpassing the two-hour mark in the match, SCU's Mann Shah edged out Dimitrijevic, winning the third set 6-4.
 
"I knew in singles it was going to be a battle out there, Nikola doesn't give matches up easily, so I knew that was going to be tight," add Mam. "These guys put in the hours day by day and we are going to see results soon, just a matter of time."
 
The Broncos clinched the victory in the fifth singles match as Santiago Hinojaosa defeated Otto Holtari 6-2, 6-4 to earn four points in the dual.
 
The Vikings remain in the Pacific Northwest next week as they make the short trip to play George Fox on Friday, Feb. 7 at 2 p.m.
 
RESULTS:
DOUBLES:
Tommy Edwards/Sam Roberts (PSU) def. Arthur Neuhaus/Vasileious Iliopoulus (SCU), 6-4
Nick Cmager/Mann Shah (SCU) def. Matteo Fortini/Majeed Bukhari (PSU), 7-5
Santiago Hinojosa/Jesus Barajas (SCU) def. Otto Holtari/Nikola Dimitrijevic, 6-0
 
SINGLES:
Matteo Fortini (PSU) def. Arthur Neuhaus (SCU), 6-4, 7-5
Tommy Edwards (PSU) def. Jesus Barajas (SCU), 7-5, 6-3
Mann Shah (SCU) def. Nikola Dimitrijevic (PSU), 6-4, 3-6, 6-4
Vasileios Illiopoulos (SCU) def. Sam Roberts (PSU), 6-3, 6-1
Santiago Hinojosa (SCU) def. Otto Holtari (PSU), 6-2, 6-4
Nick Cmager (SCU) def. Majeed Bukhari (PSU)