Vikings Face League-Leading Idaho at Vancouver Tennis Center

Portland State women's tennis will have its hands full this weekend as it welcomes league-leading Idaho to the Vancouver Tennis Center. The Vikings are still seeking their first conference win of the season after starting the year 0-5.

The schedule has been top-heavy with talented opponents. After facing off against the Vandals, PSU will have played four of the top five teams in the league standings. Head coach Jay Sterling liked the energy and fight that his team showed last weekend in a loss to Eastern Washington, and is hoping to see a similar performance this weekend.

Despite falling 6-1, the Vikings played the Eagles very tough last weekend. There were chances to take not only the doubles point, but a couple of singles matches as well. The Vikings, short-handed in the Eastern Washington match, will also hope to return a full lineup soon.

Lotti Meszaros brought home the only point for PSU with a win at No. 2. It was her first career Big Sky Conference win and also started a two-match winning streak for her. The sophomore transfer from Radford has increased her confidence after sliding down to the No. 2 spot in the lineup.

The Vikings nearly won at No. 3 as well, where Eszter Zador showed good fight in a three-set loss. Zador took the opening set, but ultimately fell 4-6, 6-4, 6-2. She still sits at 4-2 on the season (3-2 in Big Sky matches), the best record of any Viking player.

Zador is also 4-1 at No. 4, and Nina Nikitovic's return to the lineup could lead to continued success for Zador.

Alli Valk also had a near-miss in her match, losing a second-set tiebreak during which she had a couple of chances at set point. After a close opening set as well, there was a lot of encouragement to take from the loss.

Valk fell 4-6, 6-7 (6) while playing at No. 4. Similarly to Zador, she would have benefitted from Nikitovic in the lineup. The improvement in play has Sterling hoping for a great finish to the season, provided his team can get healthy.

This weekend will be a difficult test against an unbeaten Idaho team. The Vandals have lost just four conference matches in the last four seasons, but they have lost their previous two matches heading into the weekend.

SCOUTING IDAHO (8-5/4-0 BSC)

-The Vandals have routinely finished near the top of the Big Sky standings since joining the conference in 2015. They have won at least nine matches in every season and are the four-time defending Big Sky Conference champions.
-Idaho had won eight straight matches before going 0-2 on an East Coast road trip last weekend. They have won their four conference matches by a combined score of 23-5.
-Marianna Petrei and Maria Tavares lead the Vandals. Petrei is 8-3 while playing at No. 1 this season and Tavares is 9-2 at No. 2. However, Idaho has a winning record at just one other position (7-6 at No. 5) this year.
-Petrei and Tavares have combined to to 7-3 at No. 1 doubles this year as well. But the No. 3 team of Magalhaes/Watabe is 0-7 this year. Idaho has won the doubles point in just five of its 13 matches.

ALL-TIME SERIES VS. IDAHO

The Vikings are 1-12 all-time vs. Idaho. The Vandals have won the previous four meetings, including a 7-0 win on April 6 last year. The Vikings are 1-6 against Idaho when playing at home. The only win in the series came in 2013.

E.Z. DOES IT

A hot start to the season for junior Eszter Zador has set the pace for one of the top returners from a year ago. She is 4-2 on the year while playing at No. 4, the most wins on the team.

Last season, the junior from Hungary finished 5-6 in the Big Sky while competing at the No. 2 line. She finished the fall with winning one singles match and three doubles.

Zador's five wins at No. 2 are tied for the eighth most in that spot in Portland State history. She is even higher in win percentage at No. 2 singles, where her .455 percentage is good for third all time. She recently cracked the top 10 and is currently 9th in school history with four career wins at No. 4.

Zador met the minimum match requirement to qualify for the program record in winning percentage last week with her 20th singles match. She currently sits in 5th place in PSU history with a .524 winning percentage.

She is also close to breaking into the top 20 in Portland State history for total singles wins, needing just four more this year. Zador is also just one Big Sky singles win away from breaking into the top 10 in that category.

WHAT'S NEW?

This season, Portland State had three newcomers join that could each see a lot of playing time in 2019. Lotti Meszaros (Radford) and Nina Nikitovic (Portland) come to the Park Blocks by way of transfer.

Meszaros finished the fall season 6-7 in singles play and has seen time playing at the top spot this spring. She claimed the individual title at the PNW Open by winning the first three matches of her Viking career.

She won her first dual as a Viking against Lewis-Clark State (3/9/19). Last weekend, she won her first career Big Sky Conference match with a two-set win at No. 2. She is 2-5 on the year in singles and 2-3 in doubles matches.

Nikitovic battled injury in the fall, but did combine with Meszaros to go 2-2 as a doubles team, including wins against competition from Portland and Big Sky rival Sacramento State. She is now playing No. 2 for the Vikings and is off to a good start in the spring. Nikitovic is 3-3 on the season, one of three Viking players with at least a .500 record.

True freshman Jacinta Milenkoski also had an impressive debut in the fall. She reached the final of the PNW Open singles draw and finished the fall with a 5-6 record in singles play. Milenkoski also found success in the doubles competition with Taylor Rees, as the team finished the fall 2-4.

She made her spring debut against Idaho State (3/1/19) after missing the first matches of the season because of injury. She played No. 1 and won her first dual as a Viking against Lewis-Clark State (3/9/19). She also won her first doubles match while playing at No. 1 with Nikitovic.

TRENDING UP(ENIECE)

Sophomore Gerda Upeniece has been playing well as of late, winning two of her last four matches. She is one of three Vikings with a singles record of at least .500 this spring, going 2-2. She is undefeated at No. 6, winning both of her matches at that spot.

Upeniece is also the only Viking with a doubles record above .500. She is 2-1 in the spring, winning both of her matches while playing at No. 3.

REES' PIECES

Taylor Rees has a chance to go down as one of the all-time best at Portland State. She is the career leader for both total wins (14) and winning percentage (.538) at No. 6 singles. In doubles, Rees is fifth all-time with 13 wins at No. 2. She is also sixth in winning percentage (.419) at No. 2 doubles.

This season, Rees could make a run at some all-time marks. She is currently 10th all-time in career winning percentage (.439) and just one win away from making the top 10 in career wins. In doubles, she needs just three total wins to break into the top 10 total career wins. She is also tied for fourth in career Big Sky singles wins (15) and could possibly rise into the top three this season.

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Players Mentioned

Taylor Rees: Senior; 3L

Gerda Upeniece: Sophomore; 1L

Alli Valk: Junior; 1L

Eszter Zador: Junior; 1L

Jacinta Milenkoski: Freshman; HS

Nina Nikitovic: Sophomore; TR

Lotti Meszaros: Sophomore; TR

Players Mentioned

Taylor Rees
: Senior; 3L

Gerda Upeniece
: Sophomore; 1L

Alli Valk
: Junior; 1L

Eszter Zador
: Junior; 1L

Jacinta Milenkoski
: Freshman; HS

Nina Nikitovic
: Sophomore; TR

Lotti Meszaros
: Sophomore; TR