Leading from the front

In his second year with the Portland State men’s tennis team, redshirt sophomore Roman Margoulis has stepped up to the number one position in both singles and doubles competition for the 2012 season.

Born in Kiev, Ukraine and raised in Luxemborg, Margoulis played in the 2008 Davis Cup and was ranked third in his country. After spending a year at the University of Utah, he moved to Portland State last season.

“I was six years old when my dad forced me into tennis,” Margoulis said. “My dad was a competitive judo coach and he didn’t want me to do any contact sports. I was slightly overweight back in the day. So he thought that I should move around and take up tennis.”

Portland State’s relatively young tennis program and the possibility of making a contribution to the team from the very beginning were the factors that bought Margoulis to the Park Blocks. Margoulis is in his junior year and is majoring in finance.

“I was in Utah for a year,” Margoulis said. “Being European and going to Salt Lake City was a very different condition. So after a year, I decided to switch colleges and got in touch with Jay [Sterling].”

In his first season, Margoulis finished with a 6-8 overall record in the singles and a 3-3 record in conference play. He also made it to the Big Sky and the ITA All-Academic team won the ITA All-Academic Scholar-Athlete award.

“It wasn’t easy balancing tennis and school in my first year,” Margoulis said.”I had a decent first season, but it could have been better. I am better prepared this season.”

Team head coach Jay Sterling noticed his performances from last season and promoted him to the number one spot this year. “Last year he showed me that he has a big game,” Sterling said. “He put a lot of pressure on himself to try and win at number four. At number one he can just play without the pressure.”

Sterling’s strategy seems to be working. Margoulis won his match against Montana State’s number one Markus Schleuter in straight sets 6-0, 6-0 last week and stretched his game against Oregon’s number one, Robin Cambier to a tie-breaker.

Margoulis, whose favorite player is Spain’s David Ferrer, is enjoying this experience as well. “It feels good. I play the best guys in our conference, so it takes the pressure off me since I don’t have a lot to lose,” he said.

Sterling feels that Margoulis has a well-rounded, all-court game. “He has a huge forehand, and his backhand has become a weapon as well,” he said. “He is quick on his feet and is a world class tennis player.”

Sterling thinks Margoulis contributes to the team off the court too. “He is a good teammate and takes care of his academic side. He maintains a high GPA and helps our team be an ITA All-Academic team.”

This season, Margoulis hopes to remain competitive and help his team achieve their objective of qualifying for the Big Sky championship.

“I have been practicing very hard for the last couple of years. I would like to stay fit and score some wins for the team,” he said.