PORTLAND, Ore. - The Portland State men's tennis team opened its fall season over the weekend, competing at the ITA Northwest Regional in Seattle. Viking duo Andrea Brignacca and Jan Semerak made history, becoming PSU's first duo in program history to punch tickets to the ITA Super Regionals later this month.

"To be honest, there weren't a lot of expectations going into Sub-Regionals," head coach Vetu Mam said following the tournament. "We're two weeks into our school year, we have a different group of guys, so we're using fall to see who is where and what we need to focus on moving forward. The awesome part is we have four tournaments to do that and I'm pumped for these guys to get more matches under their belts"

All eight Vikings competed in the tournament, each playing at least two singles matches over the weekend. 

Despite first-round losses in the main draw, newcomers Hubert Theriault and Hayden Elliott picked up victories in the back draw. Brignacca and Semerak both earned wins in the main draw. Brignacca advanced to the round of 32 with a 6-3, 3-6, 6-0 win over Seattle's Dario Ritsovksi. Semerak benefited from a first-round bye before defeating Washington's Heman Nama 6-1, 3-6, 6-0. 

In addition to their success in singles action, Brignacca and Semerak highlighted the Vikings in the main doubles draw. Among 21 teams, the pair finished in the top two, automatically qualifying them for a trip to Super Regionals at the end of the month. Brignacca (Gr.) and Semerak (Sr.), won three matches on their way to a super-regional berth, beating teams from Portland and Eastern Washington.

Following an opening-round bye, the duo defeated Portland's Maxim Groysman and Stefan Skobelev 8-2. Their second victory came against EWU's Caden Kammerer and Tyler Dalos 8-6. They finished off their successful weekend with a 6-1, 6-4 quarterfinal victory over Portland's Luka Vukovic and Nicolas Ocana. There was no final match, as both teams qualified for the Super Regionals.

"I'm excited for Jan and Andrea to compete on that stage in Palo Alto, for Super Regionals," Mam said. "They'll see a lot of schools we don't come across often and it's just a great opportunity for them to get exposure. They played well together last year, but we had a different team, so I had to split them up. But I'm glad we can pair them back together for their last year of college tennis. They are that team that's going to get a lot of good wins for us come Spring."

The ITA Super Regionals will take place Oct. 20-23 on the campus of Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif.