This is the second of a three-part series introducing the 2014 Portland State women's tennis signing class. Part one on Siena Peri is available to read here, while part three on Alana Chaplinwill follow on Tuesday, Sept. 30.
 
PORTLAND, Ore. — Tracy Dong, a sophomore transfer from the University of Missouri, has signed a financial aid agreement to play for the Portland State women's tennis team this season, head coach Jay Sterling announced Friday.
 
Dong comes to the Vikings after spending her freshman season at Missouri, where she competed regularly in the Tigers' lineup. Dong went 9-14 overall in singles during the fall and spring seasons for the Tigers, and posted an 11-12 overall record in doubles while partnering with five different teammates.
 
Dong posted a couple of wins over players from ranked teams while at Missouri, as she beat Mariah Burke from then-No. 21 Oklahoma State at the Mizzou Invite in the fall, and beat Natalia Janowicz from then-No. 75 North Carolina State at No. 6 singles during the spring season. Meanwhile, in doubles, Dong and partner Cassidy Spearman posted an 8-7 win at No. 3 doubles over Olga Martinez and Vera Bessonova from then-No. 35 South Florida on Feb. 23.
 
"The SEC is arguably the strongest conference in NCAA Division I tennis and the fact that Tracy competed in the lineup in her freshman year is a testament to her abilities," Sterling said. "She will bring in a really good game. She brings in a wealth of experience, and that's something that is nice to bring into our lineup as well. She not only brings in talent, she brings in experience at the D1 level."
 
Besides her success at Missouri, Dong also had a standout prep career as a player on the junior circuit in Canada and the world. Dong ranked as high as No. 427 in the world in the ITF rankings as a junior, and is a four-time British Columbia Provincial singles champion. Dong also won the doubles title at the 2010 ITF Junior Open in Qatar, as well as the doubles title at the Canadian U18 ITF Junior World Ranking event, where she was also a singles semifinalist.
 
Additionally, Dong was a singles and doubles finalist at the Canadian U14 Junior Nationals, and was a mixed doubles finalist at the Eddie Herr U14 tournament.
 
Now at PSU, Dong hopes she can keep winning.
 
"I think this team has the potential to make history, win a championship and go to the NCAAs, and I believe I can give the team the drive and work ethic to get there" Dong said. "I'm extremely excited and pumped about the season and I think it'll be a breakthrough year for the team."
 
Dong's transfer to Portland State came about over the offseason, when she expressed a desire to play closer to her family in Surrey, British Columbia.
 
"She went across the country and Missouri was just a long way from home," Sterling said. "She comes from a really tight-knit family from British Columbia, just across the border, so this is a way for her to play closer to her family. She also appreciated the family atmosphere that we have here within our team, and within our athletic department. That was something that was really important to her."
 
Dong joins Siena Peri and Alana Chaplin on the Vikings' 2014 signing class with her transfer, and joins a 2014-15 Portland State women's tennis team that returns six of its seven players from last season, when they posted a program-best 6-3 record in Big Sky play.