MOSCOW, Idaho –The Portland State women's tennis team continued its historic season with a thrilling 4-3 victory over Idaho on Friday.

Kyle Russell and the Vikings become the first team in program history to begin Big Sky play at 3-0. The Vikings entered the season picked to finish eighth in the Big Sky but have spent the entire season shattering all expectations, coming up big when it matters most.  

"Every coach tries to create the perfect team dynamic when they start a season, and it often falls short," Russell said following the win. "This group of girls embodies everything a coach could ever want in a team."

The chemistry of the six-man Viking roster continues to shine in doubles action as they improved to 9-0 after a trio of wins on Friday.  

Showing just how dominant they are at line one, freshmen duo Makoto Ohara and Capu Sanoner defeated their Vandal opponents with ease 6-2 while Emily Rees and Lotti Meszaros clinched the team point with a 6-3 win at the two spot.

At No. 3 doubles, Gerda Upeniece and Ashley Ramirez were put to the test, fighting off six match points to keep themselves alive. Although the doubles point had already been decided, Ramirez took things over and steered the duo to their tenth win of the season at 7-5.  

Emily Rees put on a near-perfect performance to put PSU up 2-0 to begin singles play, securing a 6-0, 6-0 shutout win at line four.  

In a postgame interview, Russell and first-year Assistant Coach Josiah Petersen emphasized how important a win from Sanoner was in the result. Playing a huge role in keeping the young freshman mentally tough under pressure, Petersen stood by Sanoner's side as she was faced with an early 1-0 deficit. The France native dug deep and came out on top as she scratched her way to a 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 victory at line two.

The Vikings needed just one more win to clinch the match but a fiesty Idaho squad buckled down. The Vandals earned their first point of the dual after edging out a win against Meszaros on court one. A rusty Makoto Ohara fought on court three, doing everything in her power to keep the momentum on the side of the Vikings as she pushed her Vandal opponent to three sets before falling 4-6, 7-6, 3-6. Ramirez did the same in the five spot but came up short in a tiebreaker as the Vandals knotted the dual at three.

The fate of the Vikings fell into the hands of Upeniece. The senior rose to the occasion just as she did two weekends ago, sealing the deal for Portland State with an inside-out forehand beauty to end it at 4-3.

UP NEXT: 

The Vikings look to end the regular season undefeated in Big Sky action as they head to Cheney on Saturday to take on Eastern Washington (11 a.m.).