MATCH NOTES

MATCH SPECIFICS:
Saturday, Feb. 15 – 4 p.m. (PT) – vs. Seattle University – Vancouver, Wash. (Club Green Meadows)
 
ABOUT SEATTLE:
The Seattle Redhawks (3-7) will be coming off a busy stretch in their schedule when they play the Vikings, as the team played eight of its 10 matches in a 10-day period from Jan. 31 to Feb. 9. The Redhawks played three Big Sky schools in that busy stretch of their schedule, meaning the Redhawks should be a good measuring stick for the Vikings in terms of where they stand in the Big Sky. The Redhawks recorded close losses to Big Sky schools Idaho State and Weber State (both by 3-4 scores) on Jan. 31 and Feb. 1, and beat Eastern Washington 5-2 on Sunday, Feb. 9. The Vikings beat the Redhawks in a close, 4-3 match last season, only the second time Portland State has beaten the Redhawks in the all-time series between the two teams. The Vikings lost all three doubles matches in last season's match against the Redhawks, but took four of the six singles matches to get the win. The Redhawks return four of their six singles players from that team, and two of their three doubles players. On the flip side, the Vikings return only two singles players from that match who have played this season in Megan Govi and Alexa McDonald.
 
ALL-TIME VERSUS SEATTLE:
The Redhawks lead the all-time series with the Vikings, 8-2. The Vikings won the last match in the series, however, a 4-3 win at home on Jan. 25, 2013. The Redhawks had won five in a row in the series before that, and six of the last seven since the series resumed in 2009 after a 13-year break. The Vikings are 1-5 all-time against the Redhawks under current head coach Jay Sterling.
 
LAST TIME OUT:
Portland State lost 1-6 to Northern Colorado Sunday in both teams' conference opener. Junior Dané Vorster gave the Vikings their lone point in the match with a 6-0, 6-2 win over UNC's Adriana Nieto at No. 1 singles. Vorster also teamed with fellow junior Megan Govi to beat UNC's Nieto and Hilary Walters-West 8-3 at No. 2 doubles. The Vikings lost the other two doubles matches, however, and lost four of the other five singles matches in straight sets.
 
COMING UP:
The Vikings host Akron at 1 p.m. (PT) on Friday, Feb. 21, then host Northern Arizona in a Big Sky match at 10 a.m. (PT) on Sunday, Feb. 23. Both matches will be played at Club Green Meadows in Vancouver, Wash.
 
VORSTER, VIKINGS SWEEP TITLES AT CORVALLIS INDOOR TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIPS:
The Vikings dominated the Corvallis Indoor Tennis Championships earlier this season (Jan. 17-19), as Portland State claimed both spots in the women's open singles and doubles finals at the tournament. Junior Dané Vorster led the Vikings' dominance at the tournament, as she beat teammate Sabina-Elena Preda 6-4, 6-2 in the singles final, then teamed with junior Megan Govi to beat Preda and senior Marina Todd in the doubles final. Besides the all-PSU final, the Vikings also swept the four semifinal spots in the singles draw, and claimed three of the four semifinal spots in doubles.
 
GOVI ON VERGE OF HISTORY:
Junior Megan Govi stands just two singles wins short of tying PSU all-time wins leaders Leinani McAneney and Marti Pellicano (Govi has 25 career wins; McAneney and Pellicano have 27). Govi also has the most career doubles wins of any active PSU player, as she moved into a tie for fourth all-time with 19 doubles wins following her win last week against Northern Colorado. Govi will move into a tie for third all-time with her new doubles win, and will move into a tie for second all-time with three more doubles wins. Govi set a pair of school records last season, as she set the single-season singles wins record at 17 and set the single-season doubles wins record with teammate Kelsey Frey at 14. Govi also set records for single-season Big Sky singles record (6-3) and single-season Big Sky doubles record (6-3).
 
RETURNERS:
The Vikings return four letterwinners from last season in senior Marina Todd, juniors Megan Govi and Alexa McDonald, and sophomore Kelsey Frey. Govi, McDonald and Frey all return with winning records in singles and doubles last season, while Todd returns as the Vikings' No. 2 singles player from a season ago. All four players rank in the top 11 at Portland State in career singles wins as well, while Govi, Frey and Todd all rank in the top 14 in career doubles wins.
 
NEWCOMERS:
Portland State added three newcomers to its roster for the 2014 dual season in freshman Sabina-Elena Preda, sophomore Ayaka Terakawa and junior transfer Dané Vorster. Preda, a native of Romania, achieved a ranking of No. 1183 on the WTA Tour last summer, while Vorster ranked as high as 53rd in the women's open division in her native Australia. Terakawa, meanwhile, joined the Vikings as a walk-on after playing for the Portland State club tennis team during her freshman season at the school.
 
2013 SEASON RECAP:
The Vikings set a program record with 12 wins last season, going 12-12 overall and 3-7 in Big Sky play. Three of the Vikings' seven losses came by a single point, however, putting the team three points from being 6-4 and earning the program's first-ever winning record in Big Sky play. The Vikings lost senior Mandy Mallen off that team, who played the majority of the team's matches at No. 1 singles. Mallen also played No. 2 doubles with Marti Pellicano, who also graduated after last season.
 
PSU UNDER COACH STERLING:
Fifth-year head coach Jay Sterling has coached the Vikings to some of their best seasons in school history. The Vikings set a program record with a 12-12 overall mark last season, and tied the program record for Big Sky wins in a single season with three. Sterling has also coached a number of the Vikings' all-time wins leaders, including Marti Pellicano (27 singles wins, 22 doubles wins) and Megan Govi (25 singles wins). Overall, Sterling has a 22-41 record at Portland State.