PORTLAND, Ore. – The Portland State men's tennis team will head to California this weekend for a pair of matches against Sacramento State (March 4) and UC Davis (March 5).
The Vikings enter Friday at 2-5 overall with an 0-1 record against Big Sky opponents.
Vetu Mam and PSU had their best showing of the season two weekends ago, earning back-to-back wins over Pacific (4-3) and Lewis & Clark (7-0). On Sunday, they fell 7-0 to the undefeated Montana Grizzlies in their Big Sky opener.
Sam De Vries and Oliver Richards lead the Vikings in singles action with three wins each. Richards has been impressive at the No. 3 position, clinching wins in three of his last five matches. On Sunday, the sophomore gave the Vikings their best chance at a point against the Grizzlies, pushing Lawrence Sciglitano to a tiebreaker before eventually falling (6-3, 3-6, 1-0(10)).
Nils Plutat has a pair of No. 1 singles wins under his belt after going 2-1 two weekends ago with victories over Pacific's Ryen Miyagawa (6-4, 6-1) and Lewis & Clark's Kristian Peev (6-2, 6-2).
The Vikings are 0-5 in doubles action since sweeping the field against Lewis & Clark on Feb. 19. They head into the weekend with six doubles victories.
SACRAMENTO STATE
The Hornets are 6-4 heading into the weekend, their most notable wins coming against UC San Diego (5-0), UC Riverside (4-0) and Cal Poly (4-2). Friday's match against the Vikings will be their first Big Sky dual of the season after being picked second in the Big Sky preseason coaches' poll. Despite a winning record, the Hornets have lost three of their last four duals, most recently falling 4-3 to Pacific (Feb. 27).
Friday will be the first meeting between the teams since 2019 when the Hornets pulled off a 4-3 win over PSU. All-time, the Vikings are 1-18 against the Hornets, with their only victory coming in 2018.
UC DAVIS
The Aggies are 9-6 so far this season. This weekend, they're looking to snap a two-match losing streak after falling in their last two duals to Pacific (5-2) and BYU (4-1). Last month UC Davis went on a six-match win steak, including victories over Sacramento State (4-3), San Francisco (4-3), and Santa Clara (6-1).
The Vikings trail the all-time series 0-6. The last matchup between the two programs was in 2013, when the Aggies earned a 6-1 win.
