PORTLAND, Ore. - The Portland State men's tennis team concluded its successful fall season over the weekend, defeating opponents from Washington, Oregon and Portland at the Duck Invitational in Eugene (Nov. 11-13).
The Vikings' strong performance follows a 10-win weekend at the Gonzaga Invitational earlier this month. On Friday, Portland State opened the Duck Invite against Washington, followed by Portland on Saturday. They finished the weekend against UO on Sunday, going 4-1 in singles play and 1-1 in doubles action against the Ducks.
"I'm really proud of the fight these guys brought to Eugene this weekend," Head Coach
Vetu Mam said of his new team. "We did not get off to a great start on the first day of the tournament against Washington, but that was to be expected as we have not had a great first day in any of our fall tournaments. The nice thing about these guys is we always regroup, chat about how we move forward as a team, what we need to execute and we go to work."
Simon Kuszynski and
Gregory Gruenig claimed PSU's only victory on Friday against the Huskies, defeating Jacob Sleight and Nedim Suko 8-6.
The Vikings struggled in doubles against the Pilots on Saturday, but they bounced back in singles play with victories from
Andrin Zuellig,
Jonas Hembo Mathiasen, and Kuszynski.
Carrying that momentum into Sunday's matchup against the Ducks, Kuzsynski and Zuellig topped Luke Vandecasteel and Avi Shugar 6-3 in doubles action. Four Vikings added singles wins to close out the weekend.
Andrea Brignacca claimed his first match of the tournament in three sets over Lo Ray (6-4, 1-6, 6-2). Also notching his first victory of the tournament was
Jan Semerak, who defeated Vandecasteel 7-6 (2) 6-3. Meanwhile, Mathiasen battled his way to a 6-3, 5-7, 7-5 victory over August Gustafson, while Zuellig recorded his second-straight win 6-4, 7-6 (3) over Russell Soohoo.
Portland State has never recorded multiple wins in a regular-season dual against the Ducks. Sunday's performance would have shattered that record. The Vikings will get a chance to make it count when they take on the Ducks in their 2023 season opener on Jan. 14.
Mam's six newcomers have faced plenty of tough competition this fall, an experience that will pay off in the spring.
"We're in a good location here at Portland State because we don't have to travel too far to get tough competition for the guys to see how they are progressing in their tennis journey," Mam said. "We're closing the Fall chapter with our heads held high and looking forward to the spring season."
