Krauel enters his seventh season at the helm of the PSU men’s tennis program for the 2019-20 academic year, after taking over as the men's tennis program's first exclusive head coach before the 2013-14 season.
Krauel has been responsible for the three best seasons in program history between 2016, 2018 and 2019. Krauel's 2016 team set program records for overall wins (12), Big Sky Conference wins (5) and overall win percentage (.571). Krauel's 2018 team improved on those records with 13 overall wins and six wins in Big Sky play, and made the Big Sky tournament for the first time under the current format.
The 2018 Vikings also recorded the program's first-ever winning record in Big Sky play at 6-5, as well as the program's then-highest conference finish ever at fifth in the standings. Additionally, the Vikings set a program record with six road wins during the season, including the program's first-ever wins at Eastern Washington and Montana State.
Portland State topped all of that in 2019, re-setting program records with 14 wins, six conference wins and the first-ever trip to the Big Sky Championship match. Krauel led the Vikings to its highest finish in Big Sky history (4th) and won two matches at the conference tournament before losing in the championship match to Northern Arizona. All told, the Vikings broke 14 individual or team single-season program records
Krauel has coached some of the most successful doubles teams in program history, leading Avery West and Tommy Edwards to 27 wins together, the most by a doubles team. Lucas Castelo Branco/Matteo Fortini (12 wins at No. 2) and Majeed Bukhari/Sam Roberts (17 wins at No. 3) also have program record for wins at their respective lines.
He led Castelo Branco to 12 wins and a .750 winning percentage at No. 2 singles, both single-season records. Krauel also guided Tommy Edwards to a 16-win and a single-season record of 11 wins at No. 3. The Vikings won their first matches ever against Big Sky rivals Idaho and Weber State in 2019, as well as picking up their first road win against Idaho State. It was also the first season the Vikings had swept the two Montana schools.
West and Edwards put together the best season ever by a doubles team during the 2018 season, as they set the single-season program records for overall doubles wins (15), wins at No. 1 doubles (15) and win percentage at No. 1 doubles (.682) by a doubles team.
West and Edwards beat two nationally ranked doubles team during the season between Idaho's Mark Kovacs and Carlos Longhi Neto (ranked 53rd nationally when West and Edwards beat them on March 9) and Idaho State's Peter Trhac and David Felix (ranked 50th nationally when West and Edwards beat them on Feb. 10).
West and Edwards were named to the All-Big Sky second team in doubles at the end of the season, while Nathan Boniel was named to the All-Big Sky second team in singles. Boniel's second-team selection marked the third all-conference selection of his Viking career, the only player to ever accomplish the feat in program history.
Krauel brought in Boniel in 2016, and helped lead him to the best individual season in program history in 2016. Boniel lost only one match while going 19-1 overall in 2016, including a 9-1 record in Big Sky play. Boniel's 19 wins -- all of which came at line one -- set new program records for overall wins and wins at No. 1 singles, beating the old record of 15 that Chris Rice set in both categories in 2009. Boniel's nine Big Sky wins also broke the single-season program record, while his 19-1 record gave him the single-season records for overall win percentage (.950) and win percentage at No. 1 singles (.950). Boniel's .950 win percentage crushed the old record of .652 that Rice set with a 15-8 record in 2009. Boniel was named Big Sky MVP after his record 2016 season, the first time any Viking had been so honored. Boniel also made the All-Big Sky first team, making him just the second Viking to earn first-team honors in program history.
Boniel made the All-Big Sky first team in singles for the second straight season in 2017, making him the Vikings' first two-time first-team honoree in program history. Boniel broke three career records during the 2017 season, as he became the Vikings' all-time leader in overall singles wins, Big Sky singles wins and wins at No. 1 singles. Boniel also finished his career with the records for overall win percentage and win percentage at No. 1 singles, giving him five career records in addition to the five single-season records he set in 2016.
Boniel put together the best fall season ever by a Viking as a senior in 2017. Boniel became the first Viking to ever win the singles title at the Dar Walters Fall Classic, winning six straight matches en route to the title. Boniel also became the first Viking to ever advance to the quarterfinals of the ITA Northwest Regional where no Viking had ever made it past the second round before. Boniel beat two Pac-12 opponents en route to the quarterfinals of the ITA Northwest Regional, giving him three wins over Pac-12 players during the 2017 fall season.
Besides Boniel, Krauel led Ian Risenhoover to the all-time lead in overall doubles wins in 2016, as he finished his career with 39, one ahead of teammate Brent Wheeler at 38. Risenhoover also broke the career record for Big Sky singles wins in 2016 (15), while Wheeler joined Ethan Lopez in breaking the overall record for wins by a doubles team with 22 together.
Krauel laid the foundation for the record-breaking 2016 season in his second year at the school, as he led the Vikings to a series of historic accomplishments in 2015. Krauel led the Vikings to four Big Sky wins during the season, tying a then-program record set in 2010. Krauel also guided the Vikings to their first-ever wins over Montana and Sacramento State during the season, and helped Lopez set the single-season program record for win percentage at No. 2 singles (.727), and a then-record for Big Sky singles wins with seven.
Lopez and Stuart Tierney each earned All-Big Sky honorable mention honors after the 2015 season, making them the first teammates to receive All-Big Sky honors in the same season since 2010. Tierney also received Big Sky Player of the Week honors after the team's historic first win over Montana, making him the second Viking to be so honored during the 2015 season, following Matt Pronesti's honor on Jan. 20. Pronesti earned the honor after winning the singles title at the Corvallis Indoor Tennis Championships, and became the first Viking to earn conference player of the week honors since 2010 with his selection.
The Vikings also showed improvements during the 2014 fall tournament schedule, as Pronesti and Wil Cochrane became the first Vikings doubles team to win a main draw doubles title since 2010 with their win in the second flight of the PNW Intercollegiates. Pronesti's singles title at the Corvallis Indoor Tennis Championships also marked the first main draw singles title for the Vikings since 2009, while Tierney and Ian Risenhoover also won the doubles title at the tournament, giving the Vikings their first title sweep in program history.
In his first season at Portland State in 2014, Krauel led the Viking men to a 5-17 record overall and a 2-8 Big Sky. Alec Marx and Abhinav Mishra became the Vikings' all-time leaders in doubles wins as a team during the season (since broken by Lopez and Wheeler), and became the all-time leaders in wins at No. 3 doubles by a team as well.
Krauel came to the Vikings with head coaching experience at the NCAA Division I and Division III levels. Krauel was the head men’s coach at Gonzaga from 1993-2000, and led the Bulldogs to their best seasons in program history.
Krauel also led a program turn-around as the head coach at Willamette University from 2008-12. Willamette qualified for its conference tournament three of the four seasons Krauel coached at the school, and made the tournament finals in 2011, when he led the Bearcats to an 11-1 conference record.
While at Willamette, Krauel also worked at West Hills Racquet and Fitness Club in Portland, where he was an assistant tennis professional. Krauel instructed tennis players of all levels in that role, while also organizing tennis leagues and events.
As a player, Krauel competed for the University of Portland and was a two-time West Coast Conference Scholar-Athlete. Krauel has played tennis post-collegiately as well, and won the Nike National 40s doubles tournament in 2012.
Outside of tennis, Krauel holds a Juris Doctoris from Gonzaga, and has stepped out of tennis to work in law at various times in his career. Krauel worked in the Whitman County Prosecuting Attorneys Office from 1995-2000, both as a deputy prosecutor (1995-96) and a senior deputy prosecutor (1996-2000). Krauel then worked in the Cowlitz County Prosecuting Attorneys Office from 2000-06, starting as a deputy prosecutor (2000-01) before rising to become the county’s chief criminal prosecutor (2001-06). Following that, Krauel served as an adjunct law professor at Lewis and Clark College from 2006-08.
EDUCATION
Gonzaga University School of Law, J.D., 1994
University of Portland, B.A. in psychology, 1990
COACHING EXPERIENCE
2008-Present - West Hills Racquet and Fitness Club, Assistant Tennis Professional
2008-12 - Willamette University, Head Coach
1993-2000 - Gonzaga University, Head Coach
1990-91 - University of Portland, Assistant Coach
COACHING HIGHLIGHTS
• Overseen the two best seasons in program history (2016 & 2018)
• Led 2018 Vikings to the Big Sky tournament - the first time the Vikings had made the conference tournament under its current format (the Vikings' only other appearance in the conference tournament came via an auto bid as the pre-determined tournament hosts in 2003)
• Led 2018 Vikings to program records for overall wins (13), Big Sky wins (6), highest finish in Big Sky play (fifth) and most road wins (6)
• Coached program's first Big Sky MVP (Nathan Boniel in 2016), and first two-time All-Big Sky first-team selection (Nathan Boniel)
• Coached Nathan Boniel to best individual season in program history in 2016, during which Boniel set single-season program records for overall singles wins (19), overall singles win percentage (.950), Big Sky singles wins (9), wins at No. 1 singles (19) and win percentage at No. 1 singles (.950)
• Coached Boniel to the career records for overall singles wins, overall singles win percentage, Big Sky singles wins, wins at No. 1 singles and win percentage at No. 1 singles
• Coached Avery West and Tommy Edwards to the best season ever by a doubles team with single-season records for overall wins (15), wins at No. 1 doubles (15) and win percentage at No. 1 doubles (.682)
• Coached Ian Risenhoover to the all-time lead in overall doubles wins with 39, and also coached Brent Wheeler to second place all-time in doubles wins at 38
• Six All-Big Sky selections (2 First-team selections: 2 Second-team selections; 2 All-Big Sky HMs)
• Seven Big Sky Players of the Week selections
• Nine Academic All-Big Sky selections
• Led Matt Pronesti and Wil Cochrane to 2014 PNW Intercollegiates second flight doubles title, first main draw doubles title by a Viking team since 2010
• Led Matt Pronesti to 2015 Corvallis Indoor Tennis Championships singles title, first main draw singles title since 2009
• Led Nathan Boniel to 2016 Bulldog Classic singles title
• Led Nathan Boniel to 2017 Dar Walters Fall Classic singles title
• Led Nathan Boniel to best finish ever by a Viking at the ITA Northwest Regional with a quarterfinal finish in 2017
• Led Vikings to title sweep at 2015 Corvallis Indoor Tennis Championships
• Has coached six of the program's top 10 all-time singles wins leaders
• Has coached seven of the program's top 10 all-time doubles wins leaders
