Complete Match Notes (PDF)

PORTLAND, Ore. — It's only fitting that the Portland State women's tennis team's uphill climb into the Big Sky tournament starts at Northern Arizona.
 
The Lumberjacks play at the highest elevation in the Big Sky, after all, and represent the early favorite to win the Big Sky Conference after beating preseason pick Sacramento State 4-3 last weekend.
 
The Lumberjacks finished a close second to the Hornets in the preseason coaches poll, but supplanted the Hornets as the conference favorite with their win over the Hornets last weekend. The Hornets won at lines one and two in singles, in addition to line five, but the bottom of the Lumberjacks' lineup won the match for them, on top of a doubles sweep of the Hornets.
 
The Vikings, meanwhile, come into their match against the Lumberjacks after a rough home stand against Montana State and UC Irvine last weekend. The Vikings won the doubles point in both matches, but lost four of the six singles matches to lose both matches, 4-3.
 
The Vikings' 4-3 loss to the Bobcats dropped the Vikings to 0-3 in Big Sky play this season, leaving them an uphill battle to get into the top six in the Big Sky and qualify for the conference tournament at the end of the season.
 
Since the conference expanded to 12 teams before the 2015 season, the sixth seed in the conference tournament has either won five or six matches in Big Sky play, meaning the Vikings will need to win at least five of their last eight conference matches to put themselves in a similar position this season.
 
The tough part for the Vikings will be that five of their last eight matches come on the road, and one of the Vikings' three home matches will come against preseason favorite Sacramento State.
 
The next two weeks will be crucial for the Vikings, as the Vikings play the Lumberjacks on the road Sunday, and then head to Idaho State and Weber State for a pair of road matches next weekend.
 
The Vikings will need to win at least one or two of those matches if they hope to make the Big Sky tournament, and a win over the Lumberjacks Sunday would make that a lot easier.
 
The Vikings play the Lumberjacks at 10 a.m. (MT) Sunday at the Aquatic and Tennis Complex.
 
MATCH INFO:
Feb. 26 – at Northern Arizona – Flagstaff, Ariz. (Aquatic and Tennis Complex) – 10 a.m. (MT)
 
FOLLOW THE VIKINGS ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Fans can follow the Portland State women's tennis team all year on Twitter at @ViksWTEN. Live updates from most home matches will be posted on that account. Fans can also find the Vikings on Instagram at @vikswten.
 
SCOUTING NORTHERN ARIZONA:
• The Northern Arizona Lumberjacks (3-2, 1-0 Big Sky) finished second in the Big Sky preseason coaches poll by only two points, as Sacramento State narrowly edged them out 113-111. The Lumberjacks got their revenge on the Hornets last weekend, however, as they beat the Hornets 4-3 in Sacramento, making them the new favorites to win the Big Sky Conference. The Lumberjacks split their six singles matches against the Hornets, but won the match thanks to a doubles sweep.
• The Lumberjacks have won three straight matches coming into the weekend thanks to wins over Grand Canyon (5-2), Sacramento State (4-3) and San Francisco (4-2). The Lumberjacks opened their season with a pair of losses to UC Davis (4-3) and Arizona (4-0). NAU will play Southern Utah Saturday before they play the Vikings Sunday.
• The Lumberjacks split youth and experience on their 2017 rosters, as they return three seniors in Marta Lewandowska, Hailey Rochin and Blanka Szavay, but also have four underclassmen between sophomores Eirene Granville and Hanneke Lodewijks, and freshmen Chiara Tomasetti and Brandy Walker.
• Senior Blanka Szavay and sophomore Hanneke Lodewijks return after earning All-Big Sky first-team honors last season. Senior Marta Lewandowska was also an All-Big Sky honorable mention last season.
• Sophomore Hanneke Lodewijks has played at line one in singles so far this season for the Lumberjacks, and has a 2-3 record at the position. Lodewijks has also gone 4-0 in doubles this season between a 1-0 record with Blanka Szavay at line one and 3-0 with Brandy Walker at line two.
• Freshman Chiara Tomasetti has played at line two in singles for the Lumberjacks, and is 3-1 so far at the position. Tomasetti has also gone 3-1 in doubles so far this season between a 2-1 record at line one with Blanka Szavay and a 1-0 record with Marta Lewandowska at line two.
• Senior Blanka Szavay leads the Lumberjacks with a 4-0 record at line three, and has gone 3-1 at line one in doubles.
• Sophomore Eirene Glanville has won three straight matches at line six for the Lumberjacks, and is 3-0 at the position so far.
• The Lumberjacks have won the doubles point in four of their five matches so far this season, and are 8-4 combined in doubles as a team. The Lumberjacks have a 3-1 record at line one this season, and a 4-0 record at line two.
 
ALL-TIME SERIES VERSUS NORTHERN ARIZONA:
The Lumberjacks have been a conference power for a long time, and their series record against the Vikings reflects that as they lead the all-time series 16-1. The Vikings' lone win came at home in 2014, when the Vikings beat NAU 6-1 to kick start the best season in program history. The Vikings also got off to a hot start against the Lumberjacks last season, as they won the doubles point to go up 1-0 and then took the first sets at lines 3-5 to give themselves a peak at a potential dual-winning four points. The Lumberjacks came back to win in three sets at lines three and five, however, and took five of the six singles matches overall to win the dual 5-2.
 
LAST TIME OUT:
President's Day weekend was hardly a holiday for the Vikings as they dropped a pair of heartbreaking 4-3 matches to Montana State and UC Irvine Sunday and Monday. The Vikings won the doubles point in both matches, but lost four of the six singles matches to drop both matches 4-3. The Vikings led the Bobcats 3-1 in their dual on Sunday, but the Bobcats won the final three singles matches to edge out the win. Freshman Sally Partington was a bright spot for the Vikings as she won her first collegiate dual-season singles match against the Bobcats on Sunday, and then followed it up with her second straight win against UC Irvine on Monday. Senior Sabina-Elena Preda also returned to the Vikings' singles lineup for the first time in a month in the match against the Bobcats, and dominated her match at line five, winning 6-2, 6-2. Additionally, junior Siena Peri and senior Tracy Dong won both of their doubles matches at line one, as they clinched both doubles points for the Vikings over the weekend with 7-5 wins at the top of the doubles lineup. Sophomore Taylor Rees provided the other singles win for the Vikings against UC Irvine, as well, as she won in straight sets at line five, 6-2, 7-5.
 
UPCOMING:
The Vikings stay on the road for a pair of matches against Idaho State and Weber State next weekend. The Vikings play Idaho State March 2 at 10 a.m. (MT) in Pocatello, Idaho, and then play Weber State March 4 at 12 p.m. (MT) in Ogden, Utah.
 
PREDA CHASING RECORDS AS A SENIOR:
Senior Sabina-Elena Preda's return to the Vikings' lineup last Sunday revitalized her chase up the record book in her final year at Portland State. Preda played at line five Sunday, but she ranks second all-time in wins at No. 4 singles, seven wins behind her former teammate Megan Govi, who set the record with 23 career wins at the position. Preda also took over third place all-time in Big Sky doubles wins with her win with Dobell Sunday. The win gave Preda 14 career conference doubles wins, just three behind the record another former teammate of hers, Dané Vorster, set at 17 from 2014-16. Additionally, Preda ranks second all-time in Big Sky singles wins, and moved within two of the record with her 18th conference singles win Sunday. Govi set the record for Big Sky singles wins at 20, and Preda will have eight more Big Sky matches this season in which to match or break the record. Preda also tied the all-time record for wins at No. 2 doubles earlier this season, and will move out of a four-way tie for the record with Katie Slizewski, Lisa Bessman and Marina Todd with her next win.
 
DOUBLES BREAKTHROUGH:
The Vikings broke through in doubles last weekend, winning the doubles point in both matches. All three doubles teams contributed to the Vikings' weekend sweep of the doubles point, as the Vikings won at lines one and three against Montana State Sunday, and won at lines one and two against UC Irvine Monday. The Vikings' No. 1 team of Siena Peri and Tracy Dong clinched the doubles point in both matches, as they pulled out a pair of 7-5 wins over the weekend. Peri and Dong stand as one of the best doubles teams in program history, as they hold the all-time lead in overall win percentage by a doubles team at .692 (9-4). Peri and Dong also rank tied for third all-time with nine career wins at line one, just four wins behind the record of 13. Peri and Dong's nine wins together also rank them tied for 10th all-time in overall doubles wins by a team, just six wins behind the record Kelsey Frey and Megan Govi – a pair of former teammates of theirs – set at 15.
 
NEWCOMERS:
The Vikings added three newcomers over the offseason – all of which come from Australia – in sophomore transfers Georgia Dobell and Brianna Thompson, and freshman Sally Partington. Thompson had the best fall season of the three newcomers in singles, as she went 3-4 with two of her three wins coming against Big Sky opponents. Partington, meanwhile, had the best fall season in doubles, as she went 5-3 in doubles, including a 3-0 mark against teams from Eastern Washington. Thompson spent her first year of college tennis at Charleston Southern, where she as a Big South All-Conference first-team selection in doubles, and a Big South All-Conference second-team selection in singles. Dobell played her first year of college tennis at Campbell University.
 
2016 SEASON RECAP:
Portland State had a tough year in 2016, going 6-9 overall and 5-6 in Big Sky play, and missed the Big Sky tournament for the first time since 2013. The Vikings stood at 4-3 in Big Sky play at one point, but a narrow 4-3 loss to Weber State in March was the first of a late-season three-match losing streak that knocked the Vikings out of tournament contention. The Vikings still pulled out some historic wins in 2016, however, including two 7-0 sweeps of conference opponents – the first two top-to-bottom sweeps of Big Sky opponents in program history. Additionally, the Vikings closed out their season with their first-ever win over perennial conference powerhouse Montana, as they beat the Grizzlies 6-1 on the Grizzlies' home court. The Vikings had never beaten either Montana or Montana State in the state of Montana before their win over the Grizzlies, and had also been 0-6 in road matches to that point in the season. Departed senior Dané Vorser also set the program record for Big Sky doubles wins (17), and broke her own single-season school record for Big Sky doubles wins along with then-freshman Taylor Rees. Fellow departed senior Kelsey Frey also left the program with the all-time lead in wins at No. 3 doubles (22), as she moved past her former doubles partner Megan Govi during the season.