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GOLD RIVER, Calif. — A close doubles-point loss, coupled with three straight-set losses at the bottom of the singles lineup, cost the Portland State women's tennis team in their Big Sky quarterfinal match against third-seeded Montana Friday, as the Vikings lost 4-0 to the Grizzlies at Gold River Racquet Club.
 
The loss eliminates the sixth-seeded Vikings (9-11) from the Big Sky tournament, ending their 2015 season, while the Grizzlies (12-10) advance to the semifinals, where they'll face second-seeded Idaho Saturday at 2 p.m.
 
Friday's 4-0 winning margin for the Grizzlies did not reflect the closeness of the match, however, as the quarterfinal match started with an extremely tight fight in doubles. All three of the doubles matches went into a tiebreaker, putting the doubles point in serious doubt.
 
The Grizzlies ended up pulling out two of the three tiebreakers in doubles, however, winning at lines one and two. The Grizzlies' Precious Gbadomosi and Laurence Pelchat won a back-and-forth tiebreaker over the Vikings' Dané Vorster and Siena Peri, 8-6, at line one, while Sasha Carter and Cat Orfanos followed with a 7-4 tiebreaker win over the Vikings' Tracy Dong and Sabina-Elena Preda at line two.
 
Senior Megan Govi and sophomore Kelsey Frey, meanwhile, pulled out a tiebreaker win for the Vikings at line three, giving the Vikings a chance at the doubles point before the other two matches went to the Grizzlies. Govi and Frey's win together gave them their 15th career win as a team, making them the winningest doubles team in Viking program history.
 
The Grizzlies' doubles-point win would ultimately prove to be a significant advantage as the match turned to singles, however. The Vikings took first-set leads at lines one, two and three in singles, but those matches ultimately went unfinished as the Grizzlies responded with straight-set wins at lines four, five and six to wrap up the dual at 4-0.
 
The straight-set wins for the Grizzlies thwarted what could have been a closer match for the Vikings. A Vikings win in doubles, coupled with those early leads at the top of the singles lineup, would have given the Vikings a chance at closing out a 4-3 win over the Grizzlies, but the match ultimately went the other way.

The called matches cost the Vikings a couple of possible big wins, too, as freshman Siena Peri opened up a commanding lead over the Grizzlies' Sasha Carter at line two. Peri cruised to a 6-0 win over Carter in the first set, putting the former All-Big Sky first-team selection -- who had also gone a perfect 11-0 in Big Sky matches during the regular season -- on her heels.

Sophomore Tracy Dong also held a set and 4-1 lead in her match against the Grizzlies' Laurence Pelchat at line three. However, since Dong did not complete her match, she finishes the season at 15-4 overall, giving her a program-record win percentage of .789 for the season. With that record, Dong finishes her first season as a Viking season with three new single-season program records, as the transfer from the University of Missouri also set records for Big Sky wins (8) and wins at lines three (13).
 
Friday's loss continues a recent trend of close losses for the Vikings against the Grizzlies, as the Vikings also had a chance to close out a win over the Grizzlies during the regular season, but ultimately lost 5-2. The Grizzlies also pulled out a close doubles point in a tight, 4-1 win over the Vikings in last season's Big Sky semifinals.

 
Montana 4, Portland State 0
Apr 24, 2015 at Gold River, Calif. (Gold River Racquet Club) 

Singles competition

1. GBADOMOSI, Precious (UM) vs. VORSTER, Dane (PSU) 3-6, 6-2, unfinished

2. CARTER, Sasha (UM) vs. PERI, Siena (PSU) 0-6, 5-5, unfinished

3. PELCHAT, Laurence (UM) vs. DONG, Tracy (PSU) 6-7 (1-7), 1-4, unfinished

4. SULZ, Hannah (UM) def. PREDA, Sabina-Elena (PSU) 6-2, 6-3

5. KINCAID, Cam (UM) def. GOVI, Megan (PSU) 6-3, 6-4

6. ORFANOS, Cat (UM) def. MCDONALD, Alexa (PSU) 6-1, 6-4

 

Doubles competition

1. GBADOMOSI, Precious/PELCHAT, Laurence (UM) def. VORSTER, Dane/PERI, Siena (PSU) 8-7 (8-6)

2. CARTER, Sasha/ORFANOS, Cat (UM) def. DONG, Tracy/PREDA, Sabina-Elena (PSU) 8-7 (7-4)

3. GOVI, Megan/FREY, Kelsey (PSU) def. KINCAID, Cam/SULZ, Hannah (UM) 8-7 (7-3)

 

Match Notes

Portland State 9-11

Montana 12-10

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

Big Sky Quarterfinals