Complete Match Notes (PDF)

PORTLAND, Ore. — Portland State head women's tennis coach Jay Sterling has his six-pack back. No, not that one (we assume). Or that one. Coach Sterling has the six-pack that probably means the most to him right now, as he has six players healthy and eligible to play when the Vikings host Northern Arizona and North Dakota this weekend at Club Green Meadows in Vancouver, Wash.
 
The Vikings played with six players for the first time this season at home against Idaho State on Feb. 24. The full roster made a dramatic difference for the Vikings, even though it didn't result in a win as the Bengals came back to beat the Vikings 4-3.
 
Siena Peri and Taylor Rees each won in their return to the Vikings' singles lineup, as they put the Vikings on the verge of clinching the dual after the Vikings won the doubles point. Peri dropped only one game while beating Idaho State's Melissa Coburn 6-1, 6-0 at line three, while Rees beat Idaho State's Angela Walker 6-4, 6-4 at line five.
 
The Bengals ultimately came back by sweeping the remaining four singles matches, but the full lineup should keep the Vikings in matches for the rest of the season.
 
The Vikings will have a tough go of things Friday even with their full lineup, as they host Northern Arizona, which has won 23 straight regular-season matches against Big Sky opponents. The Lumberjacks went unbeaten against Big Sky opponents last season, and won their last 10 matches against conference opponents in 2016.
 
The Lumberjacks have won their first two Big Sky matches this season, and did it with relative ease as they beat traditional conference powerhouses Montana and Sacramento State both by 6-1 scores. The Lumberjacks have won seven matches in a row overall, and their only two losses this season have come against Pac-12 teams Arizona State and Arizona.
 
Despite their recent success, the Lumberjacks remain a relatively young team with four freshmen among their seven players. The Lumberjacks return sophomore Chiara Tomasetti, who was named the Big Sky Co-Freshman of the Year last season, as well as an All-Big Sky first-team selection in singles and doubles. Tomasetti was a unanimous first-team selection in singles, after she went 18-2 at No. 2 singles and 10-1 in Big Sky play.
 
The Lumberjacks also returned junior Hanneke Lodewijks, who was an All-Big Sky second-team selection in singles and doubles last season.
 
The Vikings face another Big Sky tournament team from last season in North Dakota Sunday, though the Fighting Hawks lost three of their regular starters off their 2017 team.
 
The Fighting Hawks have had a tough start to their 2018 season, as they've lost their first four Big Sky matches, all of them at home. The Fighting Hawks lost 5-2 to Sacramento State and Weber State, and 6-1 to Idaho and Eastern Washington.
 
The Vikings open the weekend against the Lumberjacks Friday at 10 a.m., and then host the Fighting Hawks at the same time Sunday.
 
MATCH INFO:
Friday, March 9 – vs. Northern Arizona – Vancouver, Wash. (Club Green Meadows) – 10 a.m.
Sunday, March 11 – vs. North Dakota – Vancouver, Wash. (Club Green Meadows) – 10 a.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 NORTHERN ARIZONA:

• The Northern Arizona Lumberjacks (7-2, 2-0 Big Sky) have won seven matches in a row coming into their match against the Vikings. The Lumberjacks beat Montana and Sacramento State, both by 6-1 scores, during their win streak, giving them a 2-0 start to Big Sky play. The Lumberjacks' only two losses this season have come against Pac-12 teams in Arizona State and Arizona.
• The Lumberjacks have won 23 straight regular-season matches against Big Sky opponents, with their last loss coming in their first conference match of the 2016 season.
• The Lumberjacks had one of their best seasons in program history last season, when they went 18-5 overall and 11-0 in Big Sky play. The Lumberjacks advanced to the championship match of the Big Sky tournament with a 4-0 win over fourth-seeded Idaho State in the semifinals. The Lumberjacks lost the final to second-seeded Idaho, however, with the Vandals pulling out a close, 4-3 match in which the Vandals won a crucial doubles point while the teams split the six singles matches.
• The Lumberjacks are a relatively young team with four freshmen among their seven players. Worthy Goldman, Ellie Millard, Madi Moore and Cora-Lynn Von Dungern joined the team as freshmen to go along with sophomore Chiara Tomasetti and juniors Eirene Granville and Hanneke Lodewijks.
• Tomasetti returns after being named the Big Sky Co-Freshman of the Year last season, when she went 18-2 at No. 2 singles and 10-1 in Big Sky play. Tomasetti was also a unanimous All-Big Sky first-team selection in singles, and earned All-Big Sky first-team honors in doubles along with departed senior Blanka Szavay.
• Lodewijks earned All-Big Sky second-team honors in singles last season, after she went 13-9 at No. 1 singles and 7-3 in Big Sky play. Lodewijks was also an All-Big Sky second-team selection in doubles along with the since-departed Brandy Walker.
• Tomasetti and Lodewijks have split time between lines one and two so far this season, with Tomasetti 4-0 at line one and 2-2 at line two while Lodewijks has gone 2-2 at line one and 5-0 at line two. Both of them are also 2-0 in Big Sky play, along with Granville and Moore. Moore ranks tied with Lodewijks for the team lead with seven singles wins, all of which have come at line six.
• The Lumberjacks have yet to lose a doubles match in Big Sky play, and have winning records at all three lines in doubles. The Lumberjacks have played with seven different doubles pairings already this season, but are 7-2 as a team at line one, 5-4 at line two, and 5-3 at line three.

 
ALL-TIME SERIES VERSUS NORTHERN ARIZONA:
The Lumberjacks lead the all-time series between them and the Vikings, 17-1, though the Vikings have played well against the Lumberjacks in the last two times the teams have played at Club Green Meadows. The Vikings won their only match against the Lumberjacks at home in 2014, and then lost a close, 5-2 match against the Lumberjacks in 2016. The Vikings won the doubles point against the Lumberjacks in 2016, but lost five of the six singles matches – two in three sets.
 
SCOUTING NORTH DAKOTA:

• The North Dakota Fighting Hawks (2-8, 0-4 Big Sky) have lost their first four Big Sky matches of the season, as they lost 5-2 to Sacramento State and Weber State, and 6-1 to Idaho and Eastern Washington. All four of those matches came at home, meaning the Fighting Hawks will play their first Big Sky road match against the Vikings Sunday.
• The Fighting Hawks went 8-16 overall and 4-7 in Big Sky play last season, and made the Big Sky tournament for the first time as a program. The Fighting Hawks lost 4-0 to third-seeded Montana State in the quarterfinals of the conference tournament.
• The Fighting Hawks have a large roster with 12 players listed between two seniors, four juniors, two sophomores and four freshmen.
• The Fighting Hawks lost three of their regular starters in Sophie Allen-Fisher, Faith Lee and Mimi Yunker, but returned two other regular starters in junior Preethi Kasilingam and sophomore Alex Revenig.
• Freshman Carmen Palumbo has played at line one for the Fighting Hawks so far this season, and two more freshmen – Elly Hartnett and Isa Sullivan – have split time at line two behind her. Kasilingam has split time with Sullivan at line three, while freshman Jaylee Yasunaga has split time with Kasilingam and Sullivan at line four. Yasunaga has also split time with junior newcomer Zahra Finnigan at line five, and split time with Finnigan and Revenig at line six.
• The Fighting Hawks are 9-13 overall as a team in doubles, having gone 4-4 at line one, 2-5 at line two, and 3-4 at line three.

 
ALL-TIME SERIES VERSUS NORTH DAKOTA:
The Vikings lead their all-time series against the Fighting Hawks, 3-2. The Fighting Hawks won the team's last match, 6-1, in Grand Forks, N.D., in 2017. The Vikings have won both of their previous home matches against UND, behind a 6-1 win in 2013 and 5-2 win in 2016.
 
LAST TIME OUT:
The Vikings were off last weekend, but lost a pair of matches to Idaho State and Washington on Feb. 24 and 25, respectively. The Vikings played a close, 4-3 match against the Bengals, but couldn't hold off a comeback from the Bengals in the match. The Vikings won the doubles point against the Bengals behind a pair of 6-3 wins at lines one and two, but the Bengals came back with wins in four of the six singles matches. Siena Peri and Taylor Rees won for the Vikings in singles, with Peri first off the court as she only dropped one game at line three. Peri beat Idaho State's Melissa Coburn 6-1, 6-0, and Taylor Rees followed shortly after with a 6-4, 6-4 win over the Bengals' Angela Walker at line five. Rees' win gave the Vikings a 3-1 lead in the dual, but the Bengals followed with wins at lines one, two and six to complete their comeback.
 
UPCOMING:
The Vikings remain home for another pair of matches next weekend against Weber State and Northern Colorado. The Vikings host the Wildcats Friday, March 16, at 10 a.m., and then host the Bears Sunday, March 18, at 9 a.m. Both matches will be played at Club Green Meadows in Vancouver, Wash.
 
ZSA ZSA ZADOR:
Sophomore newcomer Eszter Zador leads the Vikings with three singles wins this season, two of which have come at No. 2 singles. Zador beat Montana State's Annie Walker 6-4, 3-6, 1-0 (10-3) at line two on Feb. 11, and won her other two matches 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 has two doubles wins this season, including a win at No. 1 doubles with Siena Peri in the Vikings' match against Idaho State.
 
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.