CHENEY, Wash. - The Portland State women's tennis team capped its winningest regular season since 2014 with another victory on Sunday, topping Eastern Washington 5-2 on the road. Winning four of their last five matches, the Vikings ended the regular season 11-11 overall and 5-3 in conference action. The Eagles finished the year 4-12 and 2-6 in Big Sky action.

"Eastern is well-coached and they compete incredibly hard," head coach Kyle Russell said. I just can't say enough good things about this team. It's so hard to win on the road in this conference and they put their tournament chances on their own rackets these last couple of weekends. They always dig a little deeper. They always embrace adversity and pick each other up when they're down. I'm just really proud to coach this group."

The standings were far from settled heading into the weekend. However, the Vikings took care of business as Russell said, solidifying their spot in the Big Sky Championship tournament later this month. They finished third in the Big Sky standings and will head to Phoenix, Ariz. April 27-29 as the number three seed in the tournament.

The Vikings secured the opening point with a doubles sweep. Big Sky doubles leaders, Masha Ponomareva and Capu Sanoner capped a phenomenal season at the No. 1 spot with a 6-4 win over Scout Mathews and Isabella Foshee. The duo finished the regular season 11-0, becoming the first duo in program history to do so. Nika Beukers and Nell Arendt battled out a 7-5 victory on court two, while Emily Rees and Makoto Ohara claimed a 6-4 win at the No. 3 spot.

Ponomareva notched her sixth conference win at No. 1 singles, defeating Mathews 6-3, 6-3 to open singles action. Playing at the two spot, Elizabeth Strongina posted a 6-4, 6-4 win over Jennifer Kida. The freshman finished the regular season with a team-high 13 victories in singles action, the fifth most in program history.

"Mako and Nika did a great job of feeding off each other as they fought back in their matches," Russell said.

Playing at the three and four spots, Beukers and Ohara brought it home for the Vikings, claiming the final two wins of the day, both in comeback fashion. Beukers posted a 2-6, 7-5, 6-4 victory over Renata Gabuzyan at No. 3, while Ohara pounded out a 2-6, 7-5, 6-2 win over Leandra Nizetic on court four.

Having won back-to-back conference road matches to finish the regular season, the Vikings will enter the postseason full of momentum.

"It was a wonderful weekend full of tennis and happiness," Ponomareva said following the win. "I'm so proud of the entire team and the fight they showed in both matches. We are looking forward to playing our conference tournament matches as we've got everything we need to finish with a bang!"

The 2023 Big Sky Conference tournament will begin on Thursday, April 27 in Phoenix, Ariz. at the Phoenix Tennis Center. The Vikings will open the tournament against six-seed Montana on April 27.