Portland State's spring golf season opens next Monday when the Vikings take part in the Mountain Classic Matchplay tournament in Palm Desert, CA. PSU returns to the event after placing third last season.
 
The Vikings are one of eight teams competing in the match play format at The Classic Club. Also playing are hosts Wyoming and Boise State, Northern Arizona, Southern Utah, Seattle, Montana State and Nevada. Teams will be seeded and placed in a bracket for a Monday morning round. Semifinals take place on Monday afternoon, with finals on Tuesday morning.
 
Last season, as a six-seed PSU knocked off number-three Utah Valley, 2-1-2, lost to second-seeded Boise State in the semifinals, 5-0, then beat fifth-seeded Cal State Fullerton in the third-place match, 3-2-0.
 
The Mountain Classic Matchplay is the first of five spring events for the Vikings concluding with the Big Sky Conference Championship, Apr. 17-19, at Talking Stick Golf Club in Scottsdale, AZ.
 
In four fall events the Vikings had two top-five finishes. PSU tied for fifth at the 18-team Hobble Creek Fall Classic in Springville, UT, then third in the nine-team Eagle Invitational in Spokane, WA.
 
PSU has a 304.8 team scoring average, its best in three seasons. The Vikings posted a round of 294 and a tournament score of 900 during the fall, both of which are program-bests since 2019.
 
Senior Tya Seth, a native of Lake Oswego (LOHS), is the team's scoring leader at 73.83 through 12 competitive rounds. Sophomore Tannica Porter of Eugene (Willamette HS) has a 75.00 scoring average. Also competing in the event will be junior Mariana Garcia Rosette (78.08) and freshmen Payten Shimizu (79.33) and Bayler Brundage (81.67).
 
Head Coach Bill Winter is in his second season leading the program.
 

MOUNTAIN CLASSIC MATCHPLAY

Date: Feb. 13-14
Course: The Classic Club, Palm Desert, CA
Par/Yardage: 72/6,081 yards
Host: University of Wyoming/Boise State
Play: Three 18-hole match play team competitions, two on Monday, one on Tuesday. Tee times begin at 7 a.m. PT each day.
Live scoring: www.golfstat.com
Teams competing (8, with golfstat ranking): Wyoming (176), Boise State (113), Northern Arizona (123), Southern Utah (206), Seattle (121), Montana State (202), Portland State (207), Nevada (60)
 

TAP-INS

• KILLING IT IN THE CLASSROOM: The Portland State Women's Golf team can boast the top team grade point average for the fall among all Viking sports programs. The team had a combined GPA of 3.85 and has a combined cumulative GPA of 3.83. Three members of the team were named to the President's List and one was named to the Dean's List.
• VIKINGS PICKED SEVENTH IN BIG SKY PRESEASON POLL (points, 1^st place votes): 1. Sacramento State, 81 (9); 2. Northern Arizona, 71 (1); 3. Weber State, 66; 4. Idaho, 58; 5. Northern Colorado, 48; 6. Montana State, 40; 7. Portland State, 35; 8. Eastern Washington, 22; 9. Montana, 18; 10. Idaho State, 11
• SCORING AVERAGES/ROUNDS: Tya Seth, 73.83; Tannica Porter, 75.00; Mariana Garcia Rosette, 78.08; Payten Shimizu, 79.33; Mari Nakamura, 80.11; Bayler Brundage, 81.67
• BIRDIE WATCHING (12 rounds): Tya Seth, 37; Tannica Porter, 27; Mariana Garcia Rosette, 16; Bayler Brundage, 12 (1 eagle); Mari Nakamura, 11 (9 rounds); Payten Shimizu, 7. 

 
FALL SEASON
Sept. 12-13, Hobble Creek Fall Classic, Hobble Creek GC, Springville, UT, t5th of 18 teams, 305-298-307=910
Sept. 26-28, Eagle Invitational, Indian Canyon GC, Spokane, WA, 3^rd of 9 teams, 310-296-294=900
Oct. 3-4, Pat Lesser-Harbottle Invitational, Tacoma CC, Tacoma, WA (Seattle), 18^th of 21 teams, 308-305-314=927 
Oct. 24-26, Rainbow Wahine Invitational, Kapolei GC, Honolulu, HI (Hawai'i), 11^th of 13 teams, 312-308-300=920
                       
SPRING SEASON
Feb. 13-14, Mountain Classic Matchplay, The Classic Club, Palm Desert, CA (Wyoming/Boise State)
Mar. 9-11, Lady Thunderbird Invitational, Sunbrook Golf Course, St. George, UT (Southern Utah)
Apr. 3-4, Wyoming Cowgirl Classic, Ak Chin Southern Dunes, Maricopa, AZ (Wyoming)                                
Apr. 9-11, Bobcat Desert Classic, The Golf Club of Estrella, Goodyear, AZ (Montana State)                           
Apr. 17-19, Big Sky Conference Championship, Talking Stick Golf Club, Scottsdale, AZ