Complete tournament notes (PDF)

PORTLAND, Ore. — It's showtime for the Portland State women's tennis team (9-10, 5-6 Big Sky), as the Vikings enter the Big Sky tournament at Gold River Racquet Club this weekend hoping to continue their season of program firsts.
 
The Vikings face an uphill battle as the No. 6 seed, as they open the tournament against the third-seeded Montana Grizzlies at 2 p.m. Friday in Gold River, Calif. The Vikings have never won in 14 previous matches against the Grizzlies, but that hasn't stopped the Vikings as they've faced similar situations earlier this season.
 
The Vikings entered their 2015 dual season schedule never having beaten Montana State in the regular season, nor Northern Colorado or Southern Utah on the road. The Vikings accomplished all three of those feats this season, however, and will hope to carry that same industrious spirit into their match against the Grizzlies.
 
Portland State should also draw confidence from their last two matches against the Grizzlies, as the Vikings have challenged the Grizzlies each time even as they lost.
 
The Grizzlies eliminated the Vikings with a 4-1 win in the semifinals of last season's Big Sky tournament, but the match could have easily been closer. The Vikings narrowly lost the doubles point to start that match, and then forced the Grizzlies into three sets at lines two and four when the match was called at 4-1.
 
The Vikings then pushed the Grizzlies again in their regular-season match against them this season, as the Vikings held the upper hand in the match even as the Grizzlies staked out a 3-1 lead. The Vikings held leads in all three of the remaining singles matches at 3-1 down, giving them a chance to close out a 4-3 win. Montana came back to win two of those final three matches, however, thwarting the Vikings' upset attempt with a 5-2 win.
 
If the Vikings get past the Grizzlies this time, then they'll need a similar upset mentality in the semifinals, as they would face the top-seeded Sacramento State Hornets Saturday as the lowest remaining seed in the tournament.
 
Like the Grizzlies, the Vikings have never beaten the 13-time defending Big Sky champion Hornets, but put a scare into the Hornets earlier this season. The Vikings won the doubles point off the Hornets to open the match with a lead, but then faltered in singles as the Hornets won five of their six matches against the Vikings in straight sets.
 
If the Vikings can beat the Hornets, then they'll advance to the championship match at 2 p.m. Sunday with a berth into the NCAA tournament on the line.
 
TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE:
Quarterfinals – 2 p.m.
No. 3 Montana vs. No. 6 Portland State
No. 4 Northern Arizona vs. No. 5 Weber State
 
Semifinals – 2 p.m.
Highest Remaining Seed vs. No. 2 Idaho
Lowest Remaining Seed vs. No. 1 Sacramento State
 
Championship – 2 p.m.
Winners of Semifinals
 
SCOUTING MONTANA:
The Montana Grizzlies (11-10, 9-2 Big Sky) enter the Big Sky tournament with a four-match winning streak, punctuated by a 5-2 win over Northern Arizona that clinched the No. 3 seed for the Grizzlies. All nine of the Grizzlies' Big Sky wins came by at least a 5-2 margin, and only lost to the top two teams in the Big Sky this season in Sacramento State and Idaho. Individually, all six of the Grizzlies' regular singles players recorded winning records in Big Sky play during the regular season, including a perfect 11-0 conference mark for senior and former All-Big Sky first-team selection Sasha Carter. Carter, who also ranks as the fifth-best singles player in the ITA mountain region, won eight of her 11 Big Sky matches in straight sets, including her last six straight. Additionally, Carter has won four of her last six sets, 6-0, and won the other two sets in that three-match stretch, 6-1 and 6-2. However, one of Carter's closest Big Sky matches came against the Vikings' Siena Peri, as Peri took Carter to a third set before Carter broke her late. Besides Carter, senior Precious Gbadamosi has a 6-4 record in Big Sky play at line one, and has a 10-8 record overall. Additionally, senior and former All-Big Sky second-team selection Laurence Pelchat has gone 7-4 in Big Sky matches this season, while Hannah Sulz, Cam Kincaid and Catherine Orfanos follow with 7-4, 8-3 and 6-5 conference records, respectively. The Grizzlies have also been a strong team in doubles during the conference schedule, as they've gone 8-3 in doubles points against conference opponents this season. Gbadamosi and Pelchat, who rank as the seventh-best doubles team in the ITA mountain region, have a 6-3 record at line one together in Big Sky play, while Carter and Orfanos lead the team with an 8-3 mark at line two. Kincaid and Sulz also have a winning record in Big Sky play at line three, as they have gone 7-3 together this season, and take a six-match winning streak into the conference tournament.
 
ALL-TIME SERIES VERSUS MONTANA:
The Vikings have never beaten the Grizzlies in 14 previous matches against them. The Vikings are also 0-1 all-time against the Grizzlies in the Big Sky tournament, after the Grizzlies eliminated the Vikings with a 4-1 win in the Big Sky semifinals last season.
 
VIKINGS CLOSE REGULAR SEASON WITH 6-1 LOSS TO IDAHO:
The Vikings faced second-place Idaho in their regular-season finale last Saturday, and put up a fight against the Vandals before falling, 6-1. The Vikings held leads at two of the three doubles positions, but faltered late as Idaho came back to sweep doubles. The Vikings then took the Vandals past two sets at the top four singles positions, but only pulled out one of the four, as sophomore Sabina-Elena Preda pulled out a win at line four. Preda mounted a serious comeback for the Vikings at line four, as she trailed Idaho's Rita Bermudez 4-2 in the third set before winning the final four games to steal the match. Preda held at 4-2 down to stay in the third set, and then broke to get back on serve at 4-4. Preda then held again to take her first lead in the final set at 5-4, and then broke Bermudez in the final game to clinch the match.
 
LOOKING AHEAD:
If the Vikings win the Big Sky title at the conference tournament this weekend, then they'll advance to the NCAA tournament for the first time as a program. The national tournament begins with first and second round matches played at regional sites throughout the country, May 9-10.
 
CLOSE MATCHES:
Close matches will likely dominate the Big Sky tournament this season, and the Vikings should be well prepared as eight of the team's 11 Big Sky matches this season were decided by 4-3 or 5-2 scores. One of those matches came against the Vikings' quarterfinal final opponent in Montana, as the Grizzlies beat the Vikings 5-2 at Club Green Meadows in their match on Feb. 15. The Vikings have generally been strong in close matches this season, however, as they went 4-4 in their eight Big Sky matches decided by 4-3 or 5-2 scores, including a 3-2 record in 4-3 matches. Additionally, the Vikings won two 4-3 matches during the non-conference schedule, raising their record in 4-3 matches this season to 5-2.
 
A SEASON FOR THE AGES:
Sophomore Tracy Dong has put together one of the best individual seasons in program history in 2015, as she has been tearing through the records books all year. Dong has already set the single-season record for Big Sky wins (8) and wins at line three (13), and remains on pace to break the single-season record for win percentage. Dong's 15-4 record during the dual season currently gives her a win percentage of .789, putting her ahead of the current single-season record of .765, set by Yuki Sugiyama with a 13-4 record in 2011. Dong will need to win her match against Montana to stay ahead of Sugiyama's record, however, and would also need to win her match in the semifinals if the Vikings beat Montana in the quarterfinals. Dong's 15 wins overall this season, meanwhile, rank second all-time, behind only teammate Megan Govi's record of 17 wins in 2013.
 
FANTASTIC FRESHMAN:
Freshman Siena Peri has also been putting together one of the all-time best seasons by a freshman this season, as she went 8-9 at line two during the regular season. Peri's eight wins rank as the second-best single-season total at line two, and Peri has a chance to tie Denise Cockrell's 2003 record of nine if she can beat her opponent in the Vikings' match against Montana. Additionally, Peri's six Big Sky wins rank tied for the fourth-best single-season total in program history.
 
NO SOPHOMORE SLUMP FOR PREDA:
Sophomore Sabina-Elena Preda has been a steady presence for the Vikings at line four all season, and has been the Vikings' second-most reliable winner behind Tracy Dong. Preda went 7-4 in Big Sky matches this season, tying her for the second-best single-season total in program history, behind only Dong's eight wins this season. Preda's 10 wins overall this dual season also rank second to Dong on the team, while her 10-6 record gives her the third-best win percentage on the team this season, behind Dong and senior Megan Govi. Additionally, Preda's nine wins at line four this season rank tied for the second-best single-season total in program history, and just one win off Govi's record of 10 wins at line four in 2013.
 
MEGAN GOVI BECOMES ALL-TIME LEADER IN SINGLES AND DOUBLES WINS:
Senior Megan Govi became the all-time leader in doubles wins in the Vikings' match against Weber State on March 1, and now has 32 doubles wins in her Portland State career, two more than Anya Dalkin, who previously held the record with 30 wins from 2008-11. The wins lead in doubles gives Govi the career lead in both singles and doubles wins at Portland State, as Govi also set the singles record last season. Govi has 42 singles wins in her Portland State career going into the weekend, 13 more than any other player in program history.
 
HISTORY MAKERS:
Besides Megan Govi, several other Vikings have made history this season, including senior Alexa McDonald, who moved into sole possession of second place in career singles wins at Portland State with her dual-clinching win over Northern Colorado on March 7. McDonald now has 29 wins in her career, two wins ahead of Leinani McAneney (1996-98) and Marti Pellicano (2010-13) at 27. Sophomore Kelsey Frey has also moved up the career ranks this season, as she ranks tied for 11th all-time with 15 career singles wins, and moved into a tie for fourth all-time in career doubles wins last weekend. Frey now has 20 career doubles wins, and will move into a tie for third all-time with two more wins.
 
CHALLENGING SCHEDULE:
The Vikings set up a challenging schedule for themselves in 2015, as the team began the year searching for a return trip to the Big Sky tournament. The Vikings faced seven things they have never done before as a program at the start of the year, and have more or less handled those challenges well while securing their second straight berth into the Big Sky tournament. Coming into the season, the Vikings had never beaten Montana, Montana State or Sacramento State during the regular season, and had never beaten Northern Colorado, Northern Arizona, Weber State or Southern Utah on the road. The Vikings went 3-4 in facing those challenges this season, as they beat Montana State at home and Northern Colorado and Southern Utah on the road, but lost to Montana and Sacramento State at home, as well as Weber State and Northern Arizona on the road.
 
UP AND DOWN SEASON IN DOUBLES:
The Vikings have been up and down all season in doubles, and enter the Big Sky tournament 7-12 in doubles points this season. The Vikings started the season with two straight doubles-point losses, but then won the doubles point in their next two matches. The Vikings followed that with three straight doubles-point losses, before bouncing back with wins in three of their next four matches. The Vikings then traded a three-match losing streak with a two-match winning streak, before again losing three straight doubles points going into the Big Sky tournament. The 12 doubles-point losses are six more than the Vikings' total losses in 2014, when the Vikings went 11-6 in doubles. The team's inconsistency in doubles has not been a huge drain on the Vikings, though, as the Vikings have come back to win the dual three times this season after losing the doubles point.
 
DEPTH OF RETURNERS:
The Vikings returned five of their six singles players from their historic 2014 season, including All-Big Sky first-team selection Dané Vorster, who played at No. 1 singles and doubles for the Vikings last season. Senior Megan Govi also returns for the Vikings after earning All-Big Sky honorable mention honors last season, a season in which she became the all-time singles wins leader at Portland State. Senior Alexa McDonald, the all-time wins leader at No. 5 and 6 singles for the Vikings, also returns this season, as well as sophomore Sabina-Elena Preda and junior Ayaka Terakawa. Additionally, the Vikings get back sophomore Kelsey Frey, who had to sit out the entire 2014 season due to an injury but had a highly successful freshman season in 2013.
 
NEWCOMERS:
In addition to their deep class of returners, the Vikings also added three talented newcomers in sophomore transfer Tracy Dong and freshmen Siena Peri and Alana Chaplin. Peri was a four-star recruit coming out of high school, while Dong came to the Vikings after playing her freshman season at the Univeristy of Missouri, where she went 9-14 in singles against a challenging schedule within the SEC. Chaplin, meanwhile, adds a lot of experience in Division I athletics even as a freshman, as she's the daughter of Oregon State head and associate head gymnastics coaches Tanya and Michael Chaplin.
 
FALL SEASON RECAP:
The Vikings played in four tournaments during their 2014 fall season, and went 26-30 combined as a team in singles, and 11-19 combined in doubles while playing 12 different doubles pairings. Sophomore Sabina-Elena Preda had the best singles record for the Vikings in the fall, as she went 4-1 over the last two tournaments of the season. Senior Megan Govi also went 4-3 for the Vikings in singles, while newcomers Tracy Dong and Siena Peri went 5-5 and 4-4, respectively. Peri also won the back draw of the Beach Tennis Fall Invitational, and posted a 4-2 record with junior Dané Vorster in doubles.
 
2014 SEASON RECAP:
The Vikings posted their most successful season to date in 2014, as they qualified for the Big Sky tournament for the first time in program history, finishing fourth in the conference during the regular-season with a program-best 6-3 record in Big Sky play. Then-sophomore Dané Vorster led the Vikings with a 5-3 record in Big Sky play at No. 1 singles, and recorded a 6-2 record at No. 2 doubles with then-junior Megan Govi. Vorster was named to the All-Big Sky first team for her efforts after the season, while Govi was named an All-Big Sky honorable mention. Additionally, Govi made history herself in 2014, as she became the all-time singles wins leader at Portland State during the season.