BEAVERTON, Ore. – The Portland State men's tennis team concluded its 2024 season on Monday with a dual against the two-time defending Big Sky Champion, Idaho Vandals at the Tualatin Hills Tennis Center. Despite wins on the top two singles courts, the Vikings fell short, 5-2.

The Vikings finished the season with a 5-13 overall record. Their 1-7 conference mark led to their exclusion from the Big Sky Tournament, which only takes the top six teams.

The doubles portion lasted over an hour on Monday, seeing the opening point come down to a tiebreak at line two. Andrea Brignacca and Luka Jovanovic finished the season strong on court one, surging past Sebastian Medica and Alex Asenov, 6-3. The win brought the Vikings within one victory of securing the doubles point but the Vandals were resilient.

In their first conference match as a duo this season, Andrin Zuellig and Kristian Peev were narrowly defeated by Alejandro Salvador and Matteo Masala at the three spot, falling 6-4. As a result, the crucial point came down to the senior pair, Jonas Hembo and Jan Semerak, competing at No. 2. The duo made a comeback from an early deficit; however, Francisco Gay and Taiyo Kurata managed to regain control, eventually winning in a tiebreak with a score of 7-6 (5).

Playing on the top two courts, Jovanovic and Semerak stood out for the Vikings in singles play. Jovanovic concluded a solid sophomore season by securing his seventh win of the year, his second at line one, with a comfortable victory over Gay, 6-4, 6-3.
Playing in his final collegiate dual, Semerak ended on a high note by winning a grueling, back-and-forth three-set match against Kurata at No. 2. After claiming the first set, Semerak found himself in tiebreaks for the final two setes before ultimately securing the victory 6-4, 6-7 (7), 7-6 (5).

After the match, the Vikings honored their four seniors: Brignacca, Semerak, Hembo, and Peev. 

Portland State concluded the season with a 18-23 doubles record and a 38-62 singles mark. Leading the team, Jovanovic achieved a team-high seven wins in both singles and doubles matches, closely followed by fellow sophomore Simon Kuszynski, who secured six wins in each category.