RESULTS (PDF)

SPOKANE, Wash. — Sophomore transfer Alli Valk gave fans of the Portland State women's tennis team a glimpse of things to come Friday.
 
Valk, who came to the Vikings after playing her freshman season at San Diego State in 2016-17, led the Vikings with a pair of wins over Big Sky opponents between singles and doubles on the first day of the Bulldog Invite.
 
Valk played the match of the day for the Vikings in the Blue Singles Draw, where she faced off against Stephanie Broussard, a freshman from Eastern Washington. Valk won a close first set against Broussard, 6-4, but then lost an even closer second set in a tiebreaker. Valk and Broussard went to a tiebreaker in the third set, as well, with Valk prevailing this time for a 6-4, 6-7, 7-6 (4) win.

"Alli flat out grinded out her win in singles," head coach Jay Sterling said. "She just out-fought and out-battled her worthy opponent. She worked through her nerves really well, and stayed positive throughout most of her match, which was great to see. Mentally, she was so rock solid and confident in the breaker, and everything followed from there. She just kept going for her shots nd trusting her decisions."
 
Valk's win in doubles followed an earlier win in doubles over another Big Sky team in Idaho's Shion Watabe and Maggie Chen. Valk and freshman Gerda Upeniece beat the Vandals, 6-4, in the Zag Doubles Draw, advancing them to the second round against Seattle's Hannah Gianan and Kelli Woodman. Gianan and Woodman got the better of Valk and Upeniece in the second round, however, winning 6-3.

"Alli showed great on-court leadership and supportive teamwork during her doubles today, especially with Gerda playing in her first ever college match," Sterling said. "It was awesome for them to get that win together, and for her to be part of something Gerda will never forget - her first college win - it will be a special memory for both of them."
 
Valk and Upeniece will face another Big Sky doubles team in the consolation draw Saturday, when they'll square off against Eastern Washington's Jennifer Lewis and Moriah Austin at 9 a.m. (PT).
 
Valk will then play a semifinal match against Wikotoria Nosek of Boise State in the Blue Singles Draw at 10 a.m. Win that, and Valk will advance to the championship match of the Blue Singles Draw Sunday.
 
Redshirt sophomore Brianna Thompson and sophomore transfer Eszter Zador nearly added another win for the Vikings in the Bulldog Doubles Draw. Thompson and Zador squared off against Nevada Apollo and Ashleigh Jacobs of the home Gonzaga Bulldogs, and took them to a tiebreaker before falling 7-6 (5).
 
Thompson and Zador will get a chance to prove themselves again tomorrow in the consolation side of the bracket, as they face Boise State's Jovana Kuljanin and Wiktoria Nosek at 9 a.m.
 
Additionally, the four Vikings who lost their singles matches Friday will all face players from Eastern Washington in their consolation draws Saturday. Thompson plays against the Eagles' Zoey Nelson at 1 p.m. in the consolation of the Red Singles Draw. Zador, meanwhile, faces Eastern Washington's Faye Worral at 12 p.m. in the consolation of the Blue Singles Draw, while Upeniece plays Rachel Swindell of the Eagles at 1 p.m. in the consolation of the White Singles Draw.
 
Junior Ashley Knecht is also scheduled to play Eastern Washington's Moriah Austin at 11:30 a.m. Saturday in the Zag Singles Consolation Draw.

"With the last week being the first week of school, and only having 10 days to practice prior to our first matches today, I am really pleased with how the team has started to come together so quickly, especially with three new faces," Sterling said. "The returning players have really embraced our new ones and have been super supportive as they've tried to find their place with the team.

"There's definitely a lot of things we need to work on, particularly with our doubles, but all in all, the day showed us more good things than bad, especially the heard that all of our ladies showed in their matches. We can build on that, for sure."