Complete Match Notes (PDF)

PORTLAND, Ore. — Two storied careers come to an end this weekend, as the Portland State women's tennis team will try to send off seniors Tracy Dong and Sabina-Elena Preda with wins in their finals matches as Vikings. The Vikings will conclude Big Sky play with a match against Sacramento State Saturday, and then wrap the regular season against Bellevue College Sunday.
 
Both Dong and Preda will finish their careers with several school records to their names, and could own a few more by the end of the weekend.
 
Dong and junior Siena Peri will break the Portland State school record for wins at No. 1 doubles by a team if they can win at least one match this weekend. Dong and Peri can also tie the record for overall doubles wins by a team with two wins this weekend, which would also assure them of holding onto the career records for overall win percentage and win percentage at No. 1 doubles.
 
Dong and Peri already broke the record for career Big Sky doubles wins by a team this season, and Dong could also finish with the individual record for win percentage at No. 1 doubles if she can win twice this weekend.
 
In singles, Dong broke the wins record at line three earlier in her career, and also holds the career record for win percentage at No. 3 singles. Additionally, Dong had one of the best individual seasons in program history in her first year as a Viking in 2014, when she broke the single-season records for win percentage (.789), Big Sky singles wins (8), and wins at No. 3 singles (13).
 
Preda, meanwhile, broke the career record for Big Sky singles wins earlier this season, and will tie the career record for Big Sky doubles wins by an individual if she wins against Sacramento State Saturday.
 
Preda also ranks in the top 10 for both singles and doubles wins, and moved into a tie for second all-time with her 29th career singles win in the Vikings' match against Northern Colorado last Sunday. Preda tied a former teammate of hers in Alexa McDonald, and will take over second on her own with at least one win this weekend.
 
Outside of the seniors, sophomore Taylor Rees will also go for history as the Vikings conclude their season this weekend. Rees leads the team with seven singles wins this season, and will break the career record for wins at No. 6 singles with two wins this weekend.
 
The Vikings will get underway against Sacramento State at 1 p.m. Saturday, and then play Bellevue College at 10 a.m. Sunday. Dong and Preda will be honored in a Senior Day ceremony before the Vikings' match against Sacramento State on Saturday.
 
MATCH INFO:
April 15 – vs. Sacramento State – Vancouver, Wash. (Club Green Meadows) – 1 p.m. (PT)
April 16 – vs. Bellevue College – Vancouver, Wash. (Club Green Meadows) – 10 a.m. (PT)
 
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 SACRAMENTO STATE:
• The Sacramento State Hornets (9-15, 7-3 Big Sky) will finish their Big Sky schedule against the Vikings Saturday, and then conclude the regular season against the University of Portland Sunday. The Hornets will not play in the postseason despite being in position to qualify for the Big Sky tournament. The reason for the postseason ban has not been made public.
• The Hornets' three Big Sky losses this season have come against Northern Arizona (lost 4-3 on Feb. 18), Montana State (lost 4-3 on March 4) and Idaho (lost 6-1 on April 1). The Hornets won two 4-3 matches over Montana and Idaho State, but have otherwise dropped one point or less to all other Big Sky opponents they've faced.
• The Hornets returned two of their three All-Big Sky first-team selections from last season in senior Alina Soltanici – who is a two-time All-Big Sky first-team selection – and junior Ana Loaiza Esquivias. Soltanici has not played for the Hornets this season, however, and neither has All-Big Sky second-team selection Deimante Bulatovaite, or All-Big Sky honorable mention Anna-Maria Nau.
• The Hornets have 11 players listed on their roster, but only seven of the 11 players have played this season. Four of the Hornets' seven active players this season have been freshmen, and another is a sophomore.
• Loaiza Esquivias has given the Hornets some experience at line one this season, as the junior – who has been named Big Sky Women's Tennis Player of the Week four times this season – is 16-5 overall, and 9-1 in Big Sky matches. Loaiza Esquivias is one of three players who have a 9-1 record for the Hornets, with the others being freshman Sofia Gulnova (4-3 at line five; 11-3 at line six) and sophomore Sofia Wicker (1-0 at line three; 5-7 at line four; 6-1 at line six). The Hornets are just 12-16 in Big Sky singles matches outside of those three players, and freshman Karina Vyrlan is the only other player with a winning Big Sky record at 5-3, all of which has come at line two.
• The Hornets are 24-43 overall in doubles matches this season, including a 12-17 record in Big Sky matches. The doubles point has been a good indicator of success for the Hornets this season, as they are 8-1 when they win the doubles point, and 1-15 when they lose it.
• Clarisse Baca is in her first year as the acting head coach at Sacramento State. Baca played at Sacramento State in college, and graduated in 2012.
 
ALL-TIME SERIES VERSUS SACRAMENTO STATE:
The Vikings are 0-16 all-time against Sacramento State. The closest the Vikings came to a win over Sacramento State came in 2015, when the Vikings lost 5-2 at home. The Vikings won the doubles point in that match, but lost five of the six singles matches in straight sets.
 
SCOUTING BELLEVUE COLLEGE:
• The Bellevue College Bulldogs (4-2) are based in Bellevue, Wash., and compete in the Northwest Athletics Conference. The other schools competing in women's tennis within the NWAC are Spokane, Highline, Treasure Valley and Skagit Valley.
• The Bulldogs are 3-0 in NWAC play this season, and have won 11 NWAC titles in the last 12 years. The Bulldogs won eight straight conference titles from 2005-12, and have an active streak of three straight titles from 2014-16.
• The Bulldogs have also played three NCAA Division III teams outside of their conference schools, and beat Willamette University, 9-0, on March 26. The Bulldogs lost their other two matches against NCAA Division III opponents, losing 5-4 to Puget Sound on Feb. 15, and 6-3 to UC Santa Cruz on March 27.
• The Bulldogs swept the individual conference titles at all six singles lines last season, and took the conference titles at lines one and two in doubles. The only individual conference title the Bulldogs didn't win was at line three in doubles.
• Moriah Austin returns this season after winning the NWAC conference title at line one singles, and also won the title at line one doubles with now-departed Jessie Han. Marissa Kirk returns after winning the conference title at line four singles, and won the title at line two doubles with now-departed Angela Moniaga, as well. Ha Nguyen returns after winning the conference title at line six singles.
• In addition to the three returning conference champions, the Bulldogs also have four freshmen on their roster this season in Candice Canley, Kathleen Nolan, Sharon Thomsen and Holly Wright.
 
ALL-TIME SERIES VERSUS BELLEVUE COLLEGE:
Sunday's match will be the first-ever between Portland State and Bellevue.
 
LAST TIME OUT:
The Vikings lost a pair of matches on the road last weekend, losing 7-0 to Air Force Saturday, and 4-3 to Northern Colorado Sunday. The Vikings' loss to the Bears eliminated them from Big Sky tournament contention, and handed the Vikings their fourth 4-3 loss to a Big Sky opponent this season. The Vikings did well to make the match against the Bears close, however, as they fell behind 4-0 before winning the final three matches in singles. Seniors Tracy Dong and Sabina-Elena Preda and sophomore Taylor Rees won for the Vikings, with Dong starting the comeback at line two. Dong saved five match points to beat the Bears' Beth Coton, 5-7, 7-6 (9), 1-0 (11-9), and fought back from a 6-4 deficit in the second-set tiebreaker to force the deciding 10-point tiebreaker. Preda also won, 11-9, in a match tiebreaker, as she beat Northern Colorado's Ella Mora 6-1, 6-7 (3), 1-0 (11-9) at line five. Rees, meanwhile, won in straight sets at line six, beating Northern Colorado's Remi Immler 6-4, 6-4.
 
CLOSE MATCHES:
Tormented by close losses all season, the Vikings lost their fourth 4-3 match to a Big Sky opponent last Sunday, with a narrow loss to Northern Colorado. The Vikings are just 1-4 in Big Sky matches decided by 4-3 scores this season, and 1-5 overall. Additionally, the Vikings' last five Big Sky matches have all been decided by 4-3 or 5-2 scores, while five of the Vikings' six home matches have been decided by the same scores.
 
REES' PIECES:
Sophomore Taylor Rees leads the Vikings with seven wins in singles this season, and stands on the verge of breaking the career record for wins at line six going into the final weekend of the season. Rees has 12 wins at line six in her career, one behind the record of 13 that Alexa McDonald set from 2012-15. Rees already holds the career record for win percentage at line six, as her 12-10 career record at the position gives her a win percentage of .545.
 
BEST. DOUBLES TEAM. EVER.:
Senior Tracy Dong and junior Siena Peri could lay claim to the title of the greatest doubles team in school history, depending on what they're able to do this weekend. The pair have already set the career record for most Big Sky doubles wins by a team, and will break the record for wins at line one with their next win. Additionally, Dong and Peri currently hold the record for best overall win percentage (.684), and will tie the record for most overall doubles wins by a team if they can win both their matches this weekend. Peri will also break the individual wins record at line one with one more win, while Dong currently holds the record for best win percentage at line one doubles at .619.
 
PREDA CHASING RECORDS AS A SENIOR:
Senior Sabina-Elena Preda broke the Portland State career record for Big Sky singles wins with her 21st career conference win in the Vikings' 5-2 win over Southern Utah on April 1. The win moved Preda past the record her former teammate, Megan Govi, set at 20 from 2012-15, and Preda added a 22nd conference win in the Vikings' match against Northern Colorado on April 9. Preda will also tie the career record for Big Sky doubles wins with her next win, as she stands one win off the record another former teammate of hers, Dané Vorster, set at 17 from 2014-16. 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. Preda tied Alexa McDonald for second all-time in overall singles wins last weekend, as well, and will take over second on her own with another win.
 
DONG RINGS THE BELL AS A SENIOR:
Like fellow senior Sabina-Elena Preda, Tracy Dong has been cementing her legacy during her final year with the Vikings. Dong currently ranks sixth all-time in career singles wins with 26, one win out of a tie for fourth with Leinani McAneney and Marti Pellicano. Dong also ranks fourth all-time in career singles win percentage (.542), and ranks third all-time in Big Sky singles wins with 18 career conference wins. Dong also owns the career records for wins at No. 3 singles (20) and win percentage at No. 3 singles (.645), and has moved up to seventh all-time in wins at No. 2 singles (6). Dong has been one of the best doubles players in program history, as well, as she ranks in the top 10 all-time in career doubles wins (21), overall doubles win percentage (.538), Big Sky doubles wins (13), wins at No. 1 doubles (13), win percentage at No. 1 doubles (.619), wins at No. 2 doubles (8) and win percentage at No. 2 doubles (.471).
 
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.