PORTLAND – After a 3-1 finish in Big Sky Conference action, the Portland State men's tennis team will make their fourth appearance in the Big Sky Championship tournament in Phoenix this Saturday.
 
Second-year head coach Vetu Mam and his squad will enter the two-day affair with a 7-9 overall record and 3-1 mark in Big Sky play. The Vikings were part of a three-way tie in the North Division, as both Idaho and Montana also ended at 3-1. With the Vandals earning the first place tiebreak, the Vikings clinched the second seed thanks to a 6-1 win over Montana earlier in the season.  
 
Arriving in Phoenix as the second seed in the North Division, Portland State will face the No. 1 seed from the South, Northern Arizona in the semifinal dual slated for 8 a.m. on Saturday. The winner will advance to the Championship on Sunday to face the winner of No. 1 seed Idaho and No. 2. Idaho State. The Champion will earn an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.

LAST TIME OUT

 The Vikings fell in their last two duals of the regular season beginning with a 5-0 defeat at Boise State on April 15^th. Failing to stay undefeated in conference play, the Vikings ended their road trip, falling to the University of Idaho 4-1.

QUICK HITS

• PSU's 3-0 start in Conference play was the best opening to Big Sky action in program history
• Through 16 matches the Vikings are 45-47 in singles and 19-26 in doubles 
• Senior Nikola Dimitrijevic leads the Vikings with a 9-6 record in singles action, the majority of those wins coming at line three 
• Tommy Edwards and Matteo Fortini hold a 7-6 record as a duo heading into the weekend, they are 2-1 against Conference opponents, with one match going unfinished
• Tommy Hsu also holds seven wins individually in doubles action, four of those coming alongside partner Sam Roberts
• Earlier this season, Edwards tied the program record for career singles wins (45)
• Dimitrijevic ranks third all-time in single season wins at No. 3 (9)
• Roberts ranks second all-time for single season wins at No. 6 singles this season (6)

TOURNAMENT HISTORY

• Saturday will mark the fourth tournament appearance in program history and will be the first trip under Head Coach Vetu mam
• This year marks the first season since 2003 that both the men and women Viking teams have made the Big Sky Tournament
• PSU most recently competed for the title in 2019, falling to Northern Arizona in the Championship match 4-0

NORTHERN ARIZONA

The Lumberjacks are looking to defend their 2019 Championship title as they enter Saturday's semifinal dual with a 6-8 overall record. NAU earned Conference wins over Weber State, Idaho State and Sacramento State to finish 3-0 in Big Sky play. The Lumberjacks are 36-47 in singles action and 15-21 in doubles.

SERIES HISTORY

Despite falling to the Lumberjacks in 2019, the Vikings earned a 4-3 victory in their last dual with Northern Arizona in 2020. Fortini, Dimitrijevic and Roberts all earned singles wins in the match. A victory on Saturday would mark the fourth in program history against NAU, as the Vikings trail the all-time series 9-3.


Big Sky Conference Men's Tennis Championship

Saturday, May 1, 2021
Match 1: No. 1 Idaho vs. No. 2 Idaho State - 8 a.m. PT
Match 2: No. 1 Northern Arizona vs. No. 2 Portland State - 8 a.m. PT

Sunday, May 2, 2021
Match 3: Winner of Match 1 vs. Winner of Match 2 - 8 a.m. PT

All matches and times are subject to change