RESULTS

WALLA WALLA, Wash. — Senior Siena Peri knew how to kick off her final season at Portland State.
 
Peri – playing in her first tournament of the year at the WC Fall Invite this weekend – beat teammate and doubles partner Brianna Thompson in the finals of the top singles flight, coming back from a set down to beat Thompson 2-6, 6-2, 6-3.
 
The win made Peri the Vikings' first tournament winner since former teammate Dané Vorster won the singles title at the Corvallis Indoor Tennis Championships in January of 2014. Peri also became the Vikings' first singles champion outside of the Corvallis tournament – where Marti Pellicano won in 2011 in addition to Vorster – and just the third player in the history of the Vikings' program to win the main singles draw of any tournament.
 
"It feels so good to be back with the team and competing," said Peri after her win. "I think this win will serve as a big confidence booster. I can go out on the court relaxed and with no fear with my main focus being to just play my best tennis.
 
"I'm really excited for this season. We have a lot of talent this year, and we played well at this tournament so I think we can translate that into a great season."
 
Peri beat two of her Viking teammates in winning the Blue Singles Flight Sunday, as she also beat sophomore newcomer Eszter Zador in the semifinals in addition to Thompson in the finals. Peri advanced past Zador with a 6-3, 6-4 win in the semifinals to set up her showdown with Thompson, who advanced with a 7-6 (5), 6-1 win over Seattle's Hannah Gianan in the other semifinal.
 
Zador faced off against Gianan in a third-place match of the Blue Singles Flight, and beat the Redhawk freshman 6-4, 6-1.
 
The Vikings also had success in the other singles flight Sunday, as sophomore newcomer Alli Valk advanced to the finals to give the Vikings three finalists between the two singles flights. Valk came back to beat Seattle's Audrey Scott in the semifinals of the Yellow Singles Flight, after she dropped the first set to Scott, 6-2. Valk rebounded to take Scott into a second-set tiebreaker, which she dominated while winning the tiebreaker, 7-1. Valk found herself down again early in the third set at 1-2, but won the final five games to pull out a 2-6, 7-6 (1), 6-2 comeback win and advance to the finals.
 
The three-set comeback win took its toll on Valk in the final, however, especially when her opponent in the final – Seattle's Kali McCollister – had her semifinal opponent retire before their match due to an injury. McCollister beat Valk 6-2, 6-3 in the final of the Yellow Singles Flight, as a result.
 
Freshman Gerda Upeniece won the consolation title in the Yellow Singles Flight, as she won a pair of matches in straight sets Sunday. Upeniece did not drop a game before her opponent retired in her first match of the day, as she beat Whitman's Lorin DeMuth 6-0, 3-0. Upeniece then only dropped four games combined in the consolation final against Lewis-Clark State's Sophie Uhlenkott, who she beat 6-3, 6-1.
 
Thompson and Peri added another finalist for the Vikings in the doubles draw, where they advanced to the championship match with a close, 8-6 win over Whitman's Hanna Greenberg and Andrea Gu in the semifinals. The Vikings ran into a dominant team in the finals, however, as Seattle's Kelli Woodman and Kyra Jung – who had beaten Zador and Valk 8-0 in the semifinals earlier in the day – beat Thompson and Peri 8-2.
 
The Vikings close out their 2017 fall season at the ITA Northwest Regional Championships in Stanford, Calif., next week. The regional tournament starts Thursday, Oct. 19, and runs through Monday, Oct. 23.