OGDEN, Utah – The Portland State men and women's tennis teams were picked ninth out of 11 squads in 2013 Big Sky preseason poll released by the Big Sky conference this afternoon. Sacramento State was picked first in both polls.
 
The PSU men's tennis team received 30 points to be picked in front of newcomers North Dakota and Southern Utah, likewise the women's squad tallied 28 points, picked ahead of North Dakota and the Thunderbirds.
 
“The polls came out and they're always fun to look at but we don't put a lot of weight into the preseason polls,” said head coach Jay Sterling. “I think teams are underestimating us, giving us a mental edge going in. A lot of teams haven't seen us play in the fall and the only poll that matters to me is the one at the end of the season.”
 
The vote comes out after the men's team finished 2-17 last season, with an 0-8 conference record while the women's team ended the 2012 campaign with a 4-15 mark and 1-7 in Big Sky play.
 
“I think this will be a big motivating factor to our teams,” assistant coach Angelo Niculescu said. “What I'm trying to stress right now is if you put in the hard work and have fun, the rest will take care of itself, and I think they are doing that.”
 
Both the men and women's teams have reason to be optimistic in 2013 however as Portland State started the year with a new court and new look to their practice facilities along with a new look to their respective rosters.
 
The men's team welcomes six newcomers as senior Connor Gilmore, junior Antoine Bechmann, sophomores Brent Wheeler and Dillon Triance, and freshmen Lukas Kortus, Ian Risenhoover and Will Cochrane will challenge for playing time this coming season, while returners, senior Zach Lubek, junior Abhinav Mishra and sophomores Nate Chart and Alec Marx will do their part to help lead.
 
“We have a lot of new guys on our men's team as we continue to grow this program, we're always trying to do better than the year before and I think those expectations are going to be met this season,” Sterling said. “The goals the team set for itself are to make the conference tournament and finish in the top six and we're certainly capable of doing that. Its just going to be a matter of finding the good doubles pairings and coming out strong in our duals but I think we're set up to have a really good season.”
 
Meanwhile on the women's side, the additions of junior Daria Burobina, sophomore Mandy Mallen and freshman Kelsey Frey gives Portland State a new look in the lineup and some depth to a squad that returns former starters Megan Govi, Marti Pellicano, Marina Todd, Alexa McDonad and, Nayanatara Vadali.
 
“Much like the men's side we have more depth than ever and if we can make it through the season relatively injury free this team can accomplish more than any team ever has at Portland State,” said Sterling. “My expectation is that we'll see some records set as far as the most number of wins for individuals and for the team. The players are really cohesive this year and have really bought into what we're trying to do and the standard of Portland State excellence.”
 
The Vikings men and women's squads will launch their respective campaigns this coming weekend as the men's team opens up in Eugene Ore., against the No. 71Ducks and the women travel to Pullman, Wash., to take on No. 33 Washington State. Both matches are slated for Sat. Jan. 19 as the men's match will start at 10 a.m. and the women will kick off play at 9 a.m.