PORTLAND, Ore. – The Portland State men's tennis team will head East this weekend for a pair of Big Sky duals at Idaho State and Weber State. The Vikings will begin the weekend in Pocatello on Friday against the Bengals (1 p.m. PT) before capping the road trip in Ogden against the Wildcats on Saturday (11 a.m. PT). Â
Friday will mark the Viking's first conference dual since March 12 and just their second match in over three weeks. They enter the weekend at 3-9 overall and 1-3 in conference action.
Portland State resumed play last Friday in Eugene, falling 6-0 to the University of Oregon. Before the two-week hiatus, the Vikings picked up their first conference win of the season, 4-3, against Eastern Washington on March 11 before falling to Montana State on March 12, 5-2.
Senior Nils Plutat had a breakthrough weekend for the Vikings, going 2-0 at No. 1 singles to earn his first-career Big Sky Men's Tennis Player of the Week honor. Â
Plutat and Freshman Sam De Vries enter the weekend with a pair of Big Sky wins under their belts. De Vries claimed back-to-back No. 4 singles victories against Eastern Washington and Montana State to improve his overall record to 5-7. Also clinching matches against EWU were Tommy Hsu and Oliver Richards.
SCOUTING IDAHO STATE
After being picked fourth in the Big Sky Preseason Coaches Poll, the Bengals are 10-9 overall and 3-2 in conference action. They've earned Big Sky victories over Sacramento State, Eastern Washington, and Weber State and have claimed two of their last three duals.
Friday will be the first meeting between the teams since 2019. The Vikings have won the last two matches despite trailing the all-time series 6-10. In 2019, Portland State earned a 5-2 victory over the Bengals in Pocatello.
SCOUTING WEBER STATE
After being tabbed a seventh-place finish in the Big Sky Preseason Coaches Poll, the Wildcats are 6-14 overall and 2-4 against conference opponents. They'll enter Saturday's dual on a four-match losing streak after dropping duals to Montana, Montana State, UC Davis and Sacramento State. Their only conference wins have come against Eastern Washington (6-1) and Idaho (4-3).
Weber State is 17-1 all-time against PSU. The Viking's only win occurred in the last meeting in 2019, 5-2.
