MATCH NOTES (PDF)

PORTLAND, Ore. — Having bounced back from an 0-3 opening weekend with a weekend sweep of South Dakota State and Southern last weekend, the Portland State women's tennis team now looks to move back to .500 overall as it hosts Northern Arizona for a Big Sky Conference match Sunday at 2 p.m. (PT) at Club Green Meadows in Vancouver, Wash.
 
The Vikings would move to 3-3 overall with a win over the Lumberjacks, and more importantly move to 2-1 in Big Sky play with a win over the perennially strong Lumberjacks.
 
The Vikings have only ever beaten the Lumberjacks once, but that came in the last match the Lumberjacks played at Club Green Meadows, as the Vikings beat them 6-1 at home back in 2014. That win helped launch the Vikings' run to their first-ever berth in the Big Sky tournament that season, and was also the first time the Vikings had ever taken more than a point off the Lumberjacks in any dual.
 
The Lumberjacks responded with a 7-0 win on their home court last season, however, and return five of the seven players from their 2015 team that went 8-3 in Big Sky play last season, losing only to Sacramento State, Idaho and Montana – the three teams that finished above them in the standings.
 
The Vikings will have their hands full when the Lumberjacks return to Club Green Meadows, then, but remain undefeated at home so far this season following their sweep of South Dakota State and Southern Utah last weekend.
 
WEEKEND NOTES
 
MATCH INFO:
Feb. 14 – vs. Northern Arizona – Vancouver, Wash. (Club Green Meadows) – 2 p.m.
 
FOLLOW THE VIKINGS ON TWITTER:
Fans can follow the women's tennis team all season along on Twitter at @ViksWTEN. Live results from the Vikings' match against Northern Arizona this weekend will also be at @ViksWTEN.
 
SCOUTING NORTHERN ARIZONA:
• Northern Arizona (3-3) returns five of their seven starters from last season, when the Lumberjacks went 13-11 overall and 8-3 in Big Sky play
• The Lumberjacks return three of their four All-Big Sky players from last season in second-team selection Hailey Rochin and honorable mentions Marta Lewandowska and Jordan Denesik
• The Vikings lost 7-0 to the Lumberjacks in Arizona last year, though the Vikings were a tiebreaker at line one from taking the doubles point from the Lumberjacks, and a match tiebreaker away from winning at line six in singles
• The Lumberjacks have gone 3-3 overall this season and 1-1 in Big Sky play
• The Lumberjacks beat the defending Big Sky tournament champion in Idaho, 4-3, to open Big Sky play, but then lost 4-3 on the road to Eastern Washington
• The Lumberjacks will play at Arizona on Feb. 13, a day before they play the Vikings on the 14th
• Freshman Hanneke Lodewijks has played at line one for the Lumberjacks this season, while fellow newcomer Blanka Szavay has played at line two
• Lodewijks and Szavay also play at line one in doubles for the Lumberjacks, and lead the team with a 3-2 record together
• Marta Lewandowska has the best record so far in singles for the Lumberjacks, as she's gone 4-1 at line three
• The Lumberjacks are 0-3 in true road matches this season
 
ALL-TIME SERIES VERSUS NORTHERN ARIZONA:
The Vikings trail the all-time series between them and Northern Arizona, 1-15, but broke through for their first win over the Lumberjacks in their last match against them at Club Green Meadows. The Vikings beat Northern Arizona 6-1 in 2014, which was not only the first time the Vikings had ever beaten the Lumberjacks, but also the only time the Vikings have ever taken more than one point off the Lumberjacks in any match.
 
LAST TIME OUT:
The Vikings bounced back from an 0-3 opening weekend with a weekend sweep of South Dakota State and Southern Utah last weekend. The Vikings opened the weekend with a 4-3 win over South Dakota State Friday, clinching the win with a three-set comeback win at line two by sophomore Siena Peri. Peri lost the first set to South Dakota State's Ffion Davies in a tiebreaker, but then bounced back with 6-2 and 6-1 wins in the second and third sets, respectively. The Vikings' Tracy Dong and Taylor Rees also won at lines three and five in singles after the Vikings swept the Jackrabbits in doubles. The Vikings then swept the Thunderbirds at every line in singles and doubles Saturday, winning every match for a 7-0 dual win. The sweep marked the first time the Vikings had ever swept a Big Sky school, and just the second time the Vikings had ever swept an NCAA Division I school, following a 7-0 win over Valparaiso in 2013.
 
UPCOMING:
The Vikings head back out on the road for a match against Montana State next Saturday at 5 p.m. in Bozeman, Mont.
 
PERI CLAIMS ALL-TIME LEAD IN WINS AT NO. 2 SINGLES:
Sophomore Siena Peri became the all-time leader in wins at No. 2 singles earlier this season, and now leads the category with 12 wins at the position. Peri also ranks second all-time in win percentage at No. 2 singles, as she ranks behind Denise Cockrell (.643), who also held the all-time lead in total wins until Peri passed her. Peri could be set up for more records as well, as she ranks sixth all-time in overall singles win percentage (.500) and tied for eighth in Big Sky singles wins (7). Additionally, Peri ranks highly in doubles as well, as she ranks fifth all-time in win percentage at No. 1 doubles (.476) as well as ninth all-time in wins at No. 1 doubles (10).
 
KELSEY FREY TAKES OVER CAREER LEAD IN NO. 3 DOUBLES:
Junior Kelsey Frey took over the all-time lead in wins at No. 3 doubles with her 6-2 win at line three with sophomore Sabina-Elena Preda in the Vikings' 7-0 win over Southern Utah. That win gave Frey 17 in her career at line three, moving her past her former doubles partner Megan Govi, who had 16 wins at the position from 2012-15. Frey has been one of the best doubles players in school history throughout her career, as she also ranks third all-time in overall doubles wins (23), as well as third all-time in overall doubles win percentage (.575). Additionally, Frey and Govi finished their partnership as the best doubles team all-time at Portland State, as they led all other teams with 15 wins over their partnership.
 
HISTORY MAKERS:
Tracy Dong already has the career lead in wins at No. 3 singles (15), but can extend her record with more wins this season. Dong also holds the career record for win percentage at No. 3 singles (.682), while fellow junior Sabina-Elena Preda ranks second currently in win percentage at No. 4 singles (.526). Preda also ranks tied for third all-time in career wins at No. 4 singles, and will move into a tie with Anya Dalkin for second all-time with two more singles wins at the position. Redshirt senior Dané Vorster, meanwhile, ranks second all-time in wins at No. 1 singles, but will need a monster year to catch the current leader Leinani McAneneney, as McAneney leads Vorster 27 wins to 15 currently. Redshirt junior Kelsey Frey could also take over the career doubles wins record this season with a monster year, as she currently ranks third with 23 wins, 10 behind current leader and former teammate, Megan Govi, who had 33 doubles wins in her PSU career.
 
2014-15 SEASON:
The 2014-15 season was filled with individual success for the Vikings, as Tracy Dong put together one of the best seasons by a Viking in school history. Dong finished with single-season school records for overall singles win percentage (.789), Big Sky singles wins (8), wins at No. 3 singles (13) and win percentage at No. 3 singles (.765), and already holds the Portland State career lead for wins at No. 3 singles (13) and win percentage at No. 3 singles (.765) as well. Dong, an All-Big Sky second-team selection, also had win streaks of nine and five straight matches during the season, and won 14 of her last 15 matches at one point during the season. Dong wasn't alone, though, as Siena Peri also had one of the best freshman seasons of anybody in program history, as she went 8-9 at line two, with her eight wins ranking second all-time in a single season at the No. 2 spot. Peri also had a five-match win streak of her own during the season, including a win streak of five straight matches in Big Sky play. Sabina-Elena Preda, meanwhile, had strong starts and finishes to Big Sky play, as she won her first three Big Sky matches against traditional conference powers Montana State, Montana and Sacramento State, and then finished the season with wins in four of the team's last five Big Sky matches. As a team, the Vikings finished 9-11 overall and 5-6 in Big Sky play, finishing sixth in the conference and qualifying for their second straight Big Sky tournament.