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VANCOUVER, Wash. — The Portland State women's tennis team won its third straight match Friday, beating Southern Utah 5-2 in a gritty match at Club Green Meadows to improve to 3-2 in the Big Sky going into the second half of the conference schedule.

With its third conference win Friday, Portland State (5-4, 3-2 Big Sky) has already tied the program record for Big Sky wins in a single season with five matches to go. The Vikings have also won four of their last five matches, with their lone loss in that stretch coming when No. 1 singles player Dané Vorster sat out due to illness.

"Today was a gritty, gutsy performance by the team," PSU head coach Jay Sterling. "It was just heart that got them through their matches today. Everybody contributed to the win today because nobody got negative. Every player could look to the court next to them and see their teammate competing and draw inspiration from them."

The Vikings gutted out the win against the Thunderbirds (3-4, 0-1 Big Sky) Friday with steady play in singles. Portland State went up 1-0 after securing the doubles point with wins at No. 1 and No. 3 – the team's sixth doubles-point win in its last seven matches – but then saw Southern Utah take a 2-1 lead behind two quick wins in singles.

The Thunderbirds' Veronika Rogova and Jane Marushko each won in straight sets at No. 2 and No. 3 singles, respectively, to put Southern Utah in the lead. Rogova beat PSU senior Marina Todd 6-2, 6-1 at No. 2, while Marushko beat freshman Sabina-Elena Preda 6-0, 6-3 at No. 3.

The Thunderbirds' Madeline Skaras also took the first set off junior Alexa McDonald at No. 5 singles, putting Southern Utah on the verge of going up 3-1, one win away from securing the dual. McDonald rallied to win the second set 6-4, however, then came through in the crucial third set, winning 6-2, to give her the critical 2-6, 6-4, 6-2 win.

"I was kind of nervous because after Marina and Sabina both lost, I thought, 'I really need to step up my game'" McDonald said. "I knew it could come down to me and I knew I just needed to be mentally tough."

McDonald's win put the Vikings back up 3-2, after Vorster wrapped up a dominant 6-2, 6-2 win over the Thunderbirds' Alex Ivanova at No. 1. Vorster has now won all four of her Big Sky matches this season, and has only dropped one set to a Big Sky opponent.

Now with the Vikings a win away from securing the dual, new career singles wins leader Megan Govi delivered the decisive victory for the team with a 7-5, 6-4 win over the Thunderbirds' Nastia Vasileva at No. 4. Govi has now won four straight matches at No. 4 singles, with all four of those victories coming in straight sets.

"That first set was big for Megan," Sterling said. "It's tough for her opponents to drop the first set to someon like Megan, who is so fit. You know you're in for a grind when you lost the first set to her."

Sophomore Ayaka Terakawa, meanwhile, followed Govi's win at No. 4 with her third straight win at No. 6 singles. Terekawa beat the Thunderbirds' Sarah Lundin 6-3, 6-1 Friday, as she put the finishing touches on the Vikings' 5-2 win.

Vorster and Govi also extended their own win streak at No. 1 doubles, as they beat the Thunderbirds' Ivanova and Vasileva 8-3 Friday for their fourth straight win, and sixth win in their past seven matches. Vorster and Govi also stand 4-0 in Big Sky matches this season, and only one of their Big Sky opponents has won more than three games off them in a match.

McDonald and Terakawa, meanwhile, won their third straight match at No. 3 doubles, beating the Thunderbirds' Skaras and Lundin 8-5. Additionally, McDonald and Terakawa have now won four of their last five matches, with their lone loss in that stretch coming in a tiebreaker.

Portland State now has the next eight days off before facing conference powerhouse Sacramento State Saturday, March 22, at 3 p.m. (PT) on the road. That match will start the second half of the Vikings' Big Sky Conference schedule with the team firmly in the hunt for the program's first-ever appearance in the Big Sky Championships at the end of the season.


Portland State 5, Southern Utah University 2
Mar 14, 2014 at Vancouver, Wash. (Club Green Meadows)

Singles competition

1. VORSTER, Dane (PSU) def. IVANOVA, Alex (SUU) 6-2, 6-2

2. ROGOVA, Veronika (SUU) def. TODD, Marina (PSU) 6-2, 6-1

3. MARUSHKO, Jane (SUU) def. PREDA, Sabina-Elena (PSU) 6-0, 6-3

4. GOVI, Megan (PSU) def. VASILEVA, Nastia (SUU) 7-5, 6-4

5. MCDONALD, Alexa (PSU) def. SKARAS, Madeline (SUU) 2-6, 6-4, 6-2

6. TERAKAWA, Ayaka (PSU) def. LUNDIN, Sarah (SUU) 6-3, 6-1

Doubles competition

1. VORSTER, Dane/GOVI, Megan (PSU) def. IVANOVA, Alex/VASILEVA, Nastia (SUU) 8-3

2. ROGOVA, Veronika/MARUSHKO, Jane (SUU) def. TODD, Marina/PREDA, Sabina-Elena (PSU) 8-7 (7-5)

3. MCDONALD, Alexa/TERAKAWA, Ayaka (PSU) def. SKARAS, Madeline/LUNDIN, Sarah (SUU) 8-5

Match Notes

Southern Utah University 3-4, 0-1 BSC

Portland State 5-4, 3-2 BSC

Order of Finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (2,3,1,5,4,6)