The Portland State women's golf team opens its spring schedule next week at the Fresno State Lexus Classic. The Vikings will join 12 other schools from the west region in competition at Copper River Country Club in Fresno.

The tournament takes place on Monday and Tuesday, with 36 holes the first day and 18 the next. Other teams competing at the Fresno State Lexus Classic include: Fresno State, Boise State, Hawaii, Long Beach State, Nevada, Sacramento State, San Diego State, UC Davis, UC Irvine, Santa Clara, San Francisco, Gonzaga. Live scoring will be available at www.golfstat.com.

Second-year Head Coach Kathleen Takaishi will send three juniors - Stephanie Johns (75.63 scoring average in the fall), Justine Hix (80.33) and Danielle Ranallo (77.82) - and two sophomores - Aubrey Vaughn (81.09) and Alexia Brown (77.00) - into action.

PSU will continue on later in the week, playing at the Red Rocks Invitational, hosted by Northern Arizona. Red Rocks will take place at Oak Creek Country Club in Sedona, AZ on Feb. 28 and March 1.

That field consists of 17 teams, including four others from the Big Sky Conference: Northern Arizona, Grand Canyon, Idaho State, Michigan, Montana, Montana State, Northern Colorado, Oral Roberts, Portland, Portland State, SC Upstate, Southern Utah, Utah Valley, Western Michigan, Winthrop, Wyoming, Xavier.

DEFENDING CHAMPIONS START THE 2008-09 SEASON WELL
Portland State comes off a fall season in which it won one tournament and had two other sixth-place finishes. The Vikings are on a school-record scoring pace averaging 308.6 strokes per round.

PSU is the defending Big Sky Conference Champion, and will defend that title on April 20-22 at Ocotillo Golf Club in Phoenix, AZ. The Vikings were recently picked to place second in a preseason Big Sky Conference Coaches poll.

2009 Big Sky Conference Women's Golf Preseason Poll
School (First-place votes), Total Points
Northern Arizona (5), 59
Portland State (2), 53
Sacramento State (1), 50
Eastern Washington (1), 45
Montana, 36
Northern Colorado, 35
Montana State, 20
Weber State, 17
Idaho State, 8

SPRING SEASON PREVIEW
The 2008 Big Sky Conference Champion Portland State women's golf team will go after another title this spring after a solid fall season of competition.
   
The Vikings won the Big Sky title in 2008 - the fourth league championship by the Vikings in six years - and expect to have a great shot at the title again this year.
   
The spring season will consist of six tournaments, beginning in February. The Vikings will defend their Big Sky Conference Championship, Apr. 20-22, in Chandler, AZ at Ocotillo Golf Club.
   
Viking Head Golf Coach Kathleen Takaishi set the standard high in her first season on the job, leading the Portland State Vikings to a Big Sky Conference title after just three months on the job. In fact, the standard was high all along, as the Vikings' 2007-08 championship was its fourth in the last six seasons, making it PSU's most successful team in league play.
   
Takaishi took over a young program and saw it improve over the course of last spring after a sluggish start to the season.
   
The 2008-09 season began as well as last year left off. The Vikings won the Bulldog and Eagle Invitational on Sept. 22-23, with junior transfer Stephanie Johns taking medalist honors. In addition, the Vikings had two sixth-place finishes among the other three fall tourneys. PSU's 308.6 scoring average through the fall is two shots better than the current school record. The Vikings were 9-2 in head-to-head scoring against Big Sky Conference schools during the fall.
   
“The fall season was probably better than what I anticipated it would be,” said Takaishi. “I am really excited about the spring and hope we can continue to build on what we accomplished in the fall.
   
“I don't want to look too far ahead, but our goal is to win conference again. I feel like we have a pretty good shot to do that. We just have to work hard again and find a way to peak at conference like we did last year.”
   
A young team in 2007-08 when they won the Big Sky Conference Championship, the Vikings are still loaded with underclassmen this season.
   
The Vikings pulled off an excellent fall campaign without their only senior, Kayla Morinaga, who was the team's top returning player. Morinaga had a scoring average of 78.10 and 78.53 the past two seasons, and she is expected to return to competition this spring. Last year, she was second team All-Big Sky Conference, Academic All-Conference and named to the NGCA All-America Scholar team.
   
Johns, who transferred to PSU last season and redshirted, played previously at the University of Nevada. She quickly became the Vikings' top player in the fall, posting a 75.63 scoring average - a school record pace. In addition to her win at the Bulldog and Eagle Invitational (77-78-70=225), Johns tied for eighth at the Bronco Fall invitational (75-74=149) and scored in the 70s in all 11 competitive rounds during the fall.
   
Johns is rated as the top player in the Big Sky Conference entering the spring.
   
Sophomore Alexia Brown has improved off an excellent freshman season. She had a 79.40 scoring average to rank second on the team last year, but during the spring, Brown averaged 77.56 to lead the Vikings. She was ninth at the Big Sky Championship, and 49th at the NCAA West Regional to lead the team. This fall, Brown was even better with a 77.00 scoring average. She tied for 11th at the Washington State Inland Cup and 13th at the Bronco Fall Invitational. Brown is rated sixth among all Big Sky golfers entering the spring.
   
Two-year letterwinners Danielle Ranallo and Justine Hix, both from the state of Oregon, have also improved and competed as the number three and four players during the fall. Ranallo's 77.82 scoring average is an improvement of more than three strokes per round over her sophomore season. Ranallo tied for second at the Bulldog and Eagle Invitational (74-76-78=228). Hix had an 80.33 scoring average in the fall, more than a stroke better than 2007-08.
   
Sophomore Aubrey Vaughn continues to improve her game as well. Vaughn came off a solid performance in last year's Big Sky Championship and has also improved her game more than one stroke per round over last year (81.09). Vaughn also earned Academic All-Big Sky Conference honors and was named to the NGCA All-America Scholar Team.
   
Freshman Corrine Gilbertson is a two-time San Andreas League Champion from San Bernardino, CA. She played in two tournaments during the fall with a low round of 79.
   
“The team is excited with the way they played last fall and seen that their hard work has paid off,” said Takaishi. “I know Danielle has gotten a lot better, like three shots (a round), and Alexia, I anticipate she will play better this spring. Stephanie Johns hopefully can keep playing this spring the way she has.”
   
“With the success the team had last year, they know what they can do,” said Takaishi. “If we can continue working hard and keep believing not only that we can make regionals again, but that we finish more competitively, that would be our goal.”