PORTLAND – The Portland State men's tennis team will travel for its first Big Sky Conference road competitions of the season as the Vikings prepare for two duals at Montana State and Montana this weekend.
 
The Vikings have won four straight as they enter the weekend with a 4-3 overall record, holding a perfect 2-0 mark in conference play. Portland State earned a 6-1 win over Southern Utah in its last competition as Matteo Fortini led PSU with wins at the No. 1 spot (6-2, 6-1) and at No. 2 doubles (6-4). The Vikings won in straight sets in four of the singles matches while grabbing the double points as Sahal Bukary and Nikola Dimitrijevic held on to win 7-6, winning the tiebreak 11-9.
 

FOUR IN A ROW:

Portland State has won its last four competitions dating back to Feb. 7, when the Vikings defeated George Fox 5-2 on the road. PSU followed that up with a 7-0 sweep of Lewis & Clark before back-to-back Big Sky wins against conference favorite Northern Arizona (4-3) the win over Southern Utah. The Vikings managed a four-dual win streak twice during the 2019 campaign, with their longest win streak (five) happening during the 2016 season.
 

LEADING THE PACK:

Three Vikings have tallied six singles victories on the season in Dimitrijevic, Sam Roberts, and Tommy Edwards while Roberts holds the best overall record at 6-5. Right behind them is Fortini who is 5-6 in singles play on the year. In doubles, Majeed Bukhari, Ryan Nakajima, Edwards, and Fortini have each tallied five wins.
 

STREAKING:

Roberts and Fortini have also built a winning streak in singles play on their won with both players winning their last four matches. Roberts in 3-3 at No. 4 while also picking up a win at No. 3 while Fortini is 3-2 at No. 1 with another win at No. 2. Dimitrijevic has also won his last three singles matches, holding a 4-2 record in the third spot. In doubles, Fortini and Bukhari have been a strong duo, winning three straight matches at the second position.
 

RECORD WATCH:

With 38 career singles victories, Edwards is already second all-time on the list for most wins in program history. Seven more singles victories would tie for most all-time with former teammate Nathan Boniel at 45. He is also second in singles victories in Big Sky play with 17, only six wins short of tying the all-time record. In doubles, his last victory moved him to a tie for second all-time with 38 wins, only one away from first.
 

SCOUTING MONTANA STATE:

The Bobcats open Big Sky play this weekend against Portland State while holding a 4-3 record during the spring season. Montana State has won three of its last five duals, mostly recently, picking up a 6-1 victory over CSU Pueblo and a 4-3 win over Metro State last weekend. MSU also swept duals against Whitman (7-0) and Seattle (4-0) while falling to Utah and Air Force 7-0 and 4-3 respectively.

The Bobcats were selected to finish eighth overall in the Big Sky Preseason Coaches' Poll, four spots behind Portland State. Joaquin Espinoza leads MSU with nine victories in singles play, going 5-2 at No. 2 and 3-3 at No. 3. Behind him, Marcos Zelver has six victories while three other players have tallied four victories in singles. Espinoza has also tallied the most doubles wins with four while Zelver and Chase Stoner hold the best record in doubles, going 3-2 as partners.
 

ALL-TIME RECORD VS. MONTANA STATE:

Portland State trails the all-time series against the Bobcats, holding a 3-11 overall record, but the Vikings have found recent success, winning the last two meetings. PSU defeated Montana state in 2018 by a score of 4-3 before dominating in last year's win, 6-1.
 

SCOUTING MONTANA:

The Grizzlies currently hold the longest active win streak in the Big Sky, winning five straight matches for an overall record of 6-3. They will open Big Sky play on Saturday as Montana hosts Northern Colorado prior to facing the Vikings. Four of Montana's last five opponents have come from Division III, earning wins over George Fox, Whitman, and two wins over Whitworth. The Grizzlies' fifth win came against Lewis-Clark State College, a member of the NAIA. Montana has won win over an NCAA Division I opponent, defeating Nevada 4-3 back at the beginning of February.
 
Montana was selected to finish second in the conference after the preseason poll, picking up two first-place votes in the process. Pontus Hallgren boasts a nine-match win-streak, leading the Grizzlies with a perfect 6-0 record in dual play. Four players have tallied double-digit wins in singles play including fall tournaments, with Milo Benn leading with a 15-7 overall record. In doubles, Ludvig Hallgren and Max Korkh have been the top duo with a 7-5 overall record, going 4-1 at No. 2 in dual play.
 

ALL-TIME RECORD VS. MONTANA:

Similar to Montana State, the Vikings are behind in the all-time series to Montana, (3-12) but have won the last two meetings, both coming during the 2019 campaign with Portland State winning in the regular season 4-3, before knocking the Grizzlies out of the Big Sky Tournament with a 4-2 result.