BEAVERTON, Ore. – In a four-hour Big Sky Conference opener, the Portland State men's tennis team outlasted Montana State, clinching a 4-3 victory with a third-set win from Edoardo Cravanzola in the final match.
It marked the Vikings' (4-6, 1-0) first win over Montana State (4-4, 0-1) since 2021 and their first conference victory since the 2024 season.
A fired-up Portland State squad secured the doubles point with wins on two courts, leaving the third unfinished. Freshmen duo Aarjun Pandit and Ignacio Ruiz defeated Camille Chantron and Eddie Biss at line two to set the tone. Maas Schotanus and Edoardo Cravanzola followed with a 6-3 win over Andre Stewart and Oumar Diallo on the top court to clinch the opening point for PSU.
Montana State struck first in singles with a win at No. 3, but the Vikings responded with victories from Pandit at No. 1 and Hampus Hagglund at No. 6. Needing one more win from the remaining three matches, PSU saw the Bobcats even the score with a win at No. 2 and a three-set victory at No. 5.
That left the match in Cravanzola's hands at No. 4, where he edged his opening set over Chantron 7-6 before dropping the second, 6-3. Chantron carried his second-set momentum into an early lead in the third, but Cravanzola answered, rallying to take the lead and closing out the set 6-3 to secure the deciding point and the victory for Portland State.
The Vikings will head to Arizona next, facing Grand Canyon in a doubleheader on Saturday, March 7, before returning to Big Sky play at Northern Arizona on Sunday, March 8.
