PULLMAN, Wash. ? The Portland State women's tennis team got into the
swing of things over the weekend, competing in Washington State's
Cougar Classic on Friday and Saturday. In total, the Vikings won seven
out of 12 singles matches, and two of seven in doubles.
PSU sent four athletes to Pullman, their first competition of the year
and the first opportunity for new head coach
Brian Parrott to see the
Vikings in action. In addition to Portland State, teams in attendance
were: Boise State, Eastern Washington, Gonzaga, Idaho, Montana, Montana
State, Portland and Washington State.
In the No. 1 singles spot,
Lacey Pflibsen dropped both sets on Friday,
losing to Portland's Megan Sporndli, 5-7, 7-5, 6-2, before dropping
straight sets to Montana State's Stephanie Jasper, 6-0, 6-0. Pflibsen
rebounded on Saturday, however, defeating Eastern Washington's Marie
Demerath, 7-6, 4-6, 10-4.
Molly Knox had a strong performance at the No. 2 position, winning her
consolation bracket after falling in her first match. On Friday, Knox
took eventual No. 2 champion Elisabeth Fournier of Washington State to
a third set before being knocked out, 6-1, 6-7, 6-0. Knox came back on
Friday by beating Eastern Washington's Kelsey Knight, 6-3, 6-0, and on
Saturday defeated Montana's Rebecca Bran, 4-6, 6-2, 10-7.
Anya Dalkin (No. 3) won her first match on Friday, rebounding to defeat
Montana State's Lisa Clark, 1-6, 6-0, 6-4, but fell in her second match
to Washington State's Jessica Gomez, 6-0, 6-0. On Saturday, Dalkin beat
Judy Liening of Eastern Washington, 6-4, 6-4.
The No. 4 position produced another consolation bracket victory.
Caitlin Stocking battled Gonzaga's Laura Housinger for three sets on
Friday before falling, 5-7, 6-3, 6-1. She then went on to top Eastern
Washington's Anabel Sanchez, 6-1, 7-5, and on Saturday defeated
Montana's Lauren Gibson, 4-6, 6-2, 10-7.
In doubles play, Knox and Pflibsen lost all three of their matches from
the No. 1 spot, falling to teams from Portland, Gonzaga, and Idaho.
Dalkin and Stocking dropped a match on Friday to Gonzaga, 8-4. They
then won on Saturday against a Washington State and Montana team, 8-2,
but were knocked out of the consolation bracket by Idaho, 8-2.
After this weekend's tournament, the Viking women will have a week to
prepare for the Gonzaga Classic, which is set to take place Sept. 28-30
in Spokane, Wash.