The Southern Utah men’s tennis team fell to Portland State in 4-3 in the semifinals of the Big Sky Championship, putting their historic season to an end.
Starting off the doubles competition, senior Salvador Mijares and sophomore Agustin Tamagnone defeated Tommy Edwards and Avery West in the No. 1 position 6-4. Portland State responded in the No. 2 spot with a win against Jonathan Morales and Conor Tordoff.
Keonho Shin and Remus Cope put doubles play away with a victory over Sam Roberts and Majeed Bukhari on court three 6-3, putting the Thunderbirds up 1-0.
Juan Erro won the first match in the singles competition on court six against Otto Holtari 6-2, 6-2. Portland State’s Sam Roberts won the Vikings first point of the day against Keonho Shin in the No. 5 spot 7-5, 6-2.
Morales defeated Edwards on court three 7-5, 6-1, putting the T-Birds up in the match 3-1.
Tamagnone fell to Lucas Branco in the No. 2 spot 6-2, 7-5 pulling the Vikings closer to the Thunderbirds 2-3.
Cope was outplayed in the No. 4 spot against PSU’s Nikola Dimitrijevic 6-7, 6-4, 6-4.
In the No. 1 spot, Mijares fell short to Fortini in the third set, putting the Vikings ahead 4-3, concluding the T-Birds monumental season in the semifinals.
Despite their efforts, the Thunderbirds fell short in the end. Regardless of the results, the team had a monumental season and are optimistic about the future of the program and the seasons to come.
Words from Coach Brown
“It’s hard to end the season,” head coach Colin Brown said, “but we’ve come so far this year with the best record in the history of the program. I’m proud of the growth I’ve witnessed in each of these men in the last three years and look forward to future of the team.”
