CEDAR CITY, Utah — Southern Utah men's tennis team is on the road to compete against Portland State University in Portland, Oregon on Friday, February 16 at 1 p.m. (MST). The team will then head north to Washington where they will take on Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma on Saturday, February 17 at 1 p.m. (MST) followed by a match against Seattle University, in Seattle, the same evening at 7:30 p.m. (MST).
Recap: Lewis-Clark and Idaho State
Southern Utah men's tennis team went 1-1 January 27 and 28, sweeping Lewis-Clark University and taking their loss against Idaho State University in Pocatello, Idaho.
The T-Birds took the No. 1 singles and doubles matches, which set the tone for the rest of the matches. Conor Tordoff and Jonathan Morales made the sweep in the No. 1 doubles match, with Pablo Guerra sweeping the No. 1 position in singles.
Against Idaho State, Jonathan Morales in the No. 3 position, and Guy Feigin in the No. 6 spot recorded the two victories for the Thunderbirds in the singles matches.
In the doubles competition, Jonathan Morales and Conor Tordoff locked in the win in the No. 2 spot.
Opponent Preview: Portland State University
Portland State ended last season with a record of 4-14, and have recorded four wins and two losses so far this season. Four of the current seven rostered players are underclassmen. Five of the seven players are international students, coming from Australia, Saudia Arabia, Finland, Wales and Brazil.
The last time Southern Utah competed against Portland State was at the very end of last season, losing in a very close match (3-4) in St. George, Utah.
Nathan Boniel, returning senior for the Vikings, recorded an impressive record last season going 23-9 in singles matches and recording the only positive winning record for doubles competition with teammate Tommy Edwards.
Toby Krauel enters his fifth season as head coach of the PSU men's tennis program, after taking over as the men's tennis program's first exclusive head coach at the start of the 2013-14 season. Vetu Mam enters his fifth year as an assistant coach, after competing in the program during the 2010 and 2011 seasons.
Opponent Preview: Pacific Lutheran University
Last season, the Lutes marked a 1-11 season. The match against the Southern Utah University Thunderbirds will be their first of the season and will be the first-ever encounter between the two universities.
Made up completely of Washington natives, Pacific Lutheran University has a young team, bottom heavy with four of seven rostered players being underclassmen.
Matt Look was named the head coach of the Pacific Lutheran University men's tennis program in the summer of 2017. Coach Look is backed up by assistant coaches Kent Van Alstyne and Craig Hamilton.
Opponent Preview: Seattle University
The Seattle University Redhawks closed last year with an overall record of 10-15. Coming out with a young team, the Redhawks are coming out with seven underclassmen of the ten rostered players. Half the team is from the state of Washington.
Southern Utah last competed against Seattle University in 2015 — the third year of the program's existence — and took a tough loss 0-7.
Jeremiah Kalmus, a returning sophomore for the Redhawks, was the only member of the team with a winning record last season (16-10).
Head coach Adam Reeb enters his third season as the head men's and women's tennis coach in 2017-18. He is accompanied by assistant coaches Matt Look and Justin Roe.
Words from Coach Pucher
Going into the weekend, head coach Sadhaf Pucher noted, "Portland State just had a great win against Idaho State at home and they are riding high with confidence. It will come down to how we adapt to our environment this weekend. We are playing on one of the toughest indoor courts in the Big Sky Conference. How well we can control the controllables will determine the outcome of this match."
Start Time
The match on Friday, February 16 will begin at 1 p.m. (MST) in Portland, Oregon against Portland State University.
The matches on Saturday, February 17 will begin at 1 p.m. (MST) in Tacoma, Washington against Pacific Lutheran University and 7:30 p.m. (MST) in Seattle, Washington against Seattle University.
Follow Us
Follow the Thunderbirds all season @SUUTennis on Twitter and Instagram and by liking the Southern Utah men's tennis page on Facebook.
Read all about the Thunderbirds' sports on www.suutbirds.com.
