Complete Match Notes (PDF)

PORTLAND, Ore. — The Portland State women's tennis team to action this weekend, after sitting idle last week following the team's best match of the season to date against Montana State.
 
The Vikings played with only four players on the road against the Bobcats on Feb. 11, but pushed the Bobcats to the brink of an upset. Three of the four contested singles matches against the Bobcats went to 10-point match tiebreakers, and the Vikings won two of them while losing the third, 8-10.
 
Ashley Knecht recorded one of the Vikings' two victories against the Bobcats while breaking through for her first-career singles win with a 7-6 (5), 3-6, 1-0 (10-8) victory over the Bobcats' Linda Vink at No. 4 singles. Knecht had only played at No. 6 singles before this season, but picked up her first-career win two lines above that against an opponent in Vink, who won four matches at No. 5 singles a year earlier as a freshman.
 
Eszter Zador won the other match for the Vikings, beating Montana State's Annie Walker 6-4, 3-6, 1-0 (10-3) at No. 2 singles. Zador now has three wins in five matches this season, and sports a 2-1 record at No. 2 singles.
 
Alli Valk remains on the cusp of a breakout win herself, and nearly got it against the Bobcats in what ended up a 6-2, 2-6, 0-1 (8-10) loss to Montana State's Laura Mary at No. 1 singles. Valk was serving at 8-8 in the match tiebreaker against Mary when she lost the point and Mary served out the match on the ensuing point.
 
The Vikings could use a breakthrough for Valk in their match against the Bengals Saturday. The Bengals made the Big Sky tournament for the first time since 2004 despite playing with nine freshmen last season, and return all nine of those players as sophomores this season.
 
Twin sisters Louise-Mare Botes and Huibre-Mare Botes led the Bengals last season while both earned All-Big Sky honors. Louise-Mare went undefeated against Big Sky opponents while earning All-Big Sky first-team honors in singles, while Huibre-Mare earned All-Big Sky second-team honors. The two of them also played at No. 1 doubles together last season, when they went 4-2 in Big Sky matches and earned All-Big Sky honorable mention.
 
Things won't get any easier for the Vikings on Sunday, either, as they travel to face the University of Washington, which comes into the weekend ranked 32nd nationally by the ITA. Additionally, the Huskies feature two nationally ranked singles players in Stacey Fung and Vanessa Wong, who rank 12th and 55th nationally, respectively.
 
The Huskies will play Baylor at 10 a.m. Sunday, before hosting the Vikings at 3 p.m. The Vikings open the weekend against the Bengals at 11:30 a.m. Saturday at Club Green Meadows in Vancouver, Wash.
 
MATCH INFO:
Saturday, Feb. 24 – vs. Idaho State – Vancouver, Wash. (Club Green Meadows) – 11:30 a.m.
Sunday, Feb. 25 – at Washington – Seattle, Wash. (Nordstrom Tennis Center) – 3 p.m.
 
FOLLOW THE VIKINGS ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Fans can follow the Portland State women's tennis team all year on Twitter and Instagram at @psuviksWTN. Live updates from most home matches will be posted on that account.
 
SCOUTING IDAHO STATE:

• The Idaho State Bengals (1-5) will open their Big Sky schedule this weekend against the Vikings. The Bengals played a non-conference match against Weber State in Pocatello earlier this season, and lost 4-3 on Feb. 3. The Bengals' lone win this season came over Lewis-Clark State of the NAIA, which they beat 6-1 in Pocatello on Feb. 2.
• The Bengals had a resurgent year last season, going 10-11 overall and 7-4 in Big Sky play while making the conference tournament for the first time since 2004. Additionally, the Bengals beat fifth-seeded Northern Colorado 4-3 in the quarterfinals of the Big Sky tournament, before losing 4-0 to top-seeded Northern Arizona in the semifinals.
• The Bengals played last season with nine freshmen and return all nine of those players as sophomores this season.
• Louise-Mare Botes earned All-Big Sky first-team honors while going undefeated against conference opponents in singles last season, while her twin sister Huibre-Mare Botes earned All-Big Sky second-team honors. The pair also went 4-2 in Big Sky matches while playing at No. 1 doubles together last season, and earned All-Big Sky honorable mention in doubles.
• The Bengals have generally played the same lineup as they did last season, with Hristina Cvetkovic playing at line one ahead of Huibre-Mare Botes and Louise-Mare Botes at lines two and three, respectively. Melissa Coburn has played the most matches at line four, while Megan Poe and Angela Walker have played at lines five and six, respectively.
• Louise-Mare Botes is undefeated in singles with a 5-0 record so far this season. Walker ranks second to her with three wins, while Huibre-Mare Botes ranks behind her with two wins. The two Botes sisters also lead the team with four doubles wins while playing at line one together.

 
ALL-TIME SERIES VERSUS IDAHO STATE:
The Bengals lead the all-time series between them and the Vikings, 9-7. The Vikings have owned the series of late, however, as they had won four straight matches against the Bengals before losing 6-1 on the road last season. The Vikings have still won seven of their last 10 matches against the Bengals, including their last three matches at home.
 
SCOUTING WASHINGTON:

• The Washington Huskies (7-4) come into the weekend ranked 32nd nationally as a team. The Huskies beat then-No. 20 LSU, 4-3, in Durham, N.C., on Jan. 27, and also played close matches against Texas Tech, Duke and Illinois, which were ranked eighth, ninth and 24th, respectively, at the time. The Huskies beat Eastern Washington 7-0 in their lone match against a Big Sky opponent so far this season, and beat the University of Portland 5-0 earlier on the same day.
• The Huskies will host Baylor earlier in the day Sunday, as they face off at 10 a.m. before playing the Vikings at 3 p.m.
• The Huskies went 17-10 overall and 5-5 in the Pac-12 last season, and advanced to the first round of the NCAA tournament where they lost 4-2 to Clemson.
• The Huskies return five players from last year's team, all of which played in the Huskies' national-tournament match against Clemson. The Huskies return Stacey Fung, Kenadi Hance, Miki Kobayashi, Katarina Kopcalic and Alexis Prokopuik, and added senior Angela Li and freshman Vanessa Wong.
• Fung comes into the weekend ranked 12th nationally by the ITA, while Wong ranks 55th nationally as a freshman. Additionally, Fung finished last season ranked 3rd in the ITA Northwest region, while Kobayahsi ranked 14th.
• Fung is undefeated on the year, having won all nine of her previous matches this season at No. 1 singles. Wong, meanwhile, is 7-3 during the dual season while splitting time with Kobayashi at lines two and three. Prokopuik sports an 8-2 record while playing at line four, while Hance and Kopcalic have 6-4 and 4-4 records at lines five and six, respectively.

 
ALL-TIME SERIES VERSUS WASHINGTON:
The match this Sunday will be the first-ever meeting between the Vikings and Huskies.
 
LAST TIME OUT:
The Vikings were off last week as they last competed on Feb. 11 when they lost a close, 5-2 match to Montana State on the road despite playing with only four players. Three of the four contested singles matches all went to 10-point tiebreakers, and the Vikings won two of them while lost the third, 8-10. Eszter Zador and Ashley Knecht provided the two wins for the Vikings, with Knecht earning her first-career win with a 7-6 (5), 3-6, 1-0 (10-8) victory over the Bobcats' Linda Vink at No. 4 singles. Knecht had only played at No. 6 singles before this season, but picked up her first-career win two lines above that against an opponent in Vink who won four matches at No. 5 singles a year earlier as a freshman. Zador, meanwhile, beat Montana State's Annie Walker 6-4, 3-6, 1-0 (10-3) at No. 2 singles, giving her three wins in five matches this season. Zador leads the team with her three wins this season, and sports a 2-1 record at No. 2 singles. Alli Valk nearly added a third win for the Vikings while playing at No. 1 singles, but lost a heartbreaker to Montana State's Laura Mary, 6-2, 2-6, 0-1 (8-10). The Vikings had a tougher go of things against Montana the day before, as they lost 7-0 to the Grizzlies while playing with only four players once again.
 
UPCOMING:
The Vikings take another week off before hosting Northern Arizona and North Dakota on March 9 and 11, respectively. Both matches will start at 10 a.m. at Club Green Meadows in Vancouver, Wash.
 
ZSA ZSA ZADOR:
Sophomore newcomer Eszter Zador has won three of her first five singles matches as a Viking, including two of her three matches at No. 2 singles. Zador won her most recent match in a 10-point tiebreaker, but recorded her first two wins in straight sets. Zador beat UC Davis' Kristina Breisacher 6-3, 6-2 at line two on Jan. 20, and beat Portland's Raphaelle Leblanc 6-2, 6-2 at line three on Feb. 2. Zador also helped the Vikings claim the doubles point against South Dakota with a win at line two on Jan. 21. Zador and Ashley Knecht beat South Dakota's Jana Lazarevic and Nanette Nylund 7-6 (4).
 
2017 SEASON RECAP:
The Vikings won four of their last six matches of the 2017 season, but an 0-10 start to the year doomed them as they finished tied for ninth in the Big Sky Conference. The Vikings beat Montana, 4-3, for their first win of the season on March 26 – the Vikings' second straight win over Montana after they had lost 15 straight to the Grizzlies to start their head-to-head. The Vikings then beat Southern Utah, 5-2, on the road next weekend, April 1, before finishing the year with back-to-back wins over Sacramento State and Bellevue College on April 15 and 16, respectively. The Vikings beat Sacramento State, 4-3, on their Senior Day – the Vikings' first win over the Hornets in program history. The Vikings had been 0-16 all time against the Hornets heading into the match, but won behind a doubles sweep and singles wins from then-seniors Tracy Dong and Sabina-Elena Preda, and then-sophomore Taylor Rees. Six of the Vikings' 11 Big Sky matches were decided by 4-3 scores during the season, with the Vikings 2-4 in those matches.