BEAVERTON, Ore. – Singles victories on the top two courts weren't enough for Portland State women's tennis in its Big Sky opener Sunday, as the Vikings fell 5-2 to Montana State at the Tualatin Hills Tennis Center.

In her first Big Sky match at the No. 1 spot, Scarlett Perkins delivered in straight sets–winning 7-5, 6-1 over Anna Wise. Meanwhile on court two, Marta Giglio posted a dominant win over Nia Gelashvili–her seventh straight win of the season as she improved to 7-1 overall. 

The dual loss dropped the Vikings to 4-4 overall and 0-1 in conference action, while the Bobcats improved to 4-8 (1-3 Big Sky).

Doubles proved pivotal. Portland State earned a convincing 6-2 win at No. 1 behind Hana Abdelhamid and Giglio, but Montana State answered at No. 2 by the same score. The point came down to No. 3, where Perkins and Anjola Ige grinded to a tiebreak before falling 7-6 (7-0), giving the Bobcats a 1-0 lead.

Perkins and Giglio gave the Vikings a chance to pull out the comeback in singles action, but Montana State stood their ground. After Bobcat wins at lines three and six–the match came down to Kasumi Hirayama and Abdelhamid. Hirayama battled back after dropping the first set at No. 4, forcing a deciding-set tiebreak before falling 6-1, 3-6, 7-6. At No. 5, Abdelhamid took the opening set 4-6 but couldn't hold off Lola Bean, who responded to win 6-0, 6-4. 

Portland State faces a quick turnaround, returning to action tomorrow (Monday, March 16) against Montana at the Tualatin Hills Tennis Center (10:00am).