The Portland State tennis team has just begun a new campaign. The Vikings gained a good deal of experience in a tune-up match against the University of Oregon Ducks to open the season, even though they left without a win. Antoine Bechmann played number one singles versus Oregon native and Cleveland High School product Alex Rovello in what turned out to be a competitive contest. Bechmann was able to break Rovello’s serve a few times and give the former No. 1 Pacific Northwest USTA junior tennis player a tougher-than-expected match.
Tennis team hits the court
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The Portland State tennis team has just begun a new campaign. The Vikings gained a good deal of experience in a tune-up match against the University of Oregon Ducks to open the season, even though they left without a win. Antoine Bechmann played number one singles versus Oregon native and Cleveland High School product Alex Rovello in what turned out to be a competitive contest. Bechmann was able to break Rovello’s serve a few times and give the former No. 1 Pacific Northwest USTA junior tennis player a tougher-than-expected match.
The Vikings next faced Gonzaga University in a match that yielded both a doubles and singles victory but ended with another mark in the loss column. They then moved on to face Division III Willamette University. Portland State won the match with relative ease, but Bechmann was upset at number one singles by Joshua Wong along the way. The fine-tuning seemed to pay off, when the Vikings met the Seattle University Redhawks and pulled out a close match, winning 4-3.
The following day, the Vikings suited back up for their first conference match of the year against the Montana State University Bobcats at home. Bechmann had an intriguing number one singles match, going down 1-6 in the first set, winning the second in a tiebreaker and then going on to win the match tiebreaker 10-7. Connor Gilmore also pulled out a three-set win at number four singles, but the Vikings lost 4-3.
After a loss to the University of California, Davis on Monday, PSU is set to take on the up-and-coming Division III George Fox University this coming Saturday. This match is slated as a tune-up for the Vikings, but the Bruins have been slowly proving themselves in the four years since coach Neal Ninteman took over. They have improved each year and are looking to gain some more experience from their match against the Vikings.
Justin McClain, a returning junior for the Bruins, is quickly rising in his conference. “Against a D-I program like PSU, nobody expects much out of us,” McClain said. “We go in with nothing to lose and everything to gain.”
George Fox is ready for the challenge. “We don’t really [make] any special preparations for a team like PSU,” McClain said. “Neal has his routine and we stick to it. The team confidence level going into the season is very high. We are going to work hard and give everything we have got in every match we play, especially against a team like PSU.”
