BEAVERTON, Ore. — Playing its second match in less than 24 hours, the Portland State women's tennis team bent but didn't break Monday morning, edging Montana 4-3 at the Tualatin Hills Tennis Center.
The victory marked the first Big Sky win of first-year head coach Mike Mucci's career and the first of the season for PSU (5-4, 1-1). It also extended a dominant stretch against the Griz, as the Vikings have now won seven of the last eight meetings with Montana.
Portland State was sharp during the doubles portion Monday, sweeping all three courts to secure the opening point. Hana Abdelhamid and Marta Giglio stayed perfect on the season with a 6-3 win over Meghna Anand and Kelsey Phillips at No. 1. After dropping their conference opener together on Sunday, Kasumi Hirayama and Nene Uemura bounced back in a big way, clinching the doubles point with a 6-4 victory over Paige Bott and Kaylin Kielty at No. 2. Scarlett Perkins and Anjola Ige wrapped up the sweep on court three, defeating Shivika Agrawal and Monika Fizova, 6-3.
Montana didn't go quietly in singles. The Griz responded with back-to-back straight-set wins at lines one and six to take a 2-1 lead in the team score.
A short time later, Giglio evened things up at no. 2, extending her win streak to eight matches. She cruised through the first set, 6-2, before grinding out a tight 7-5 second set against Anand.
With the match tied, the Vikings needed two of the final three courts — and delivered. Uemura put PSU back in front with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Fizova at No. 3. Both Abdelhamid (No. 5) and Hirayama (No. 4) went to third sets, battling to clinch the dual. Hirayama was the one to finish it, rallying for a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 comeback victory to seal the match. Abdelhamid took the first set against Bott but ultimately fell 6-3, 4-6, 5-7.
The Vikings return to the road next weekend to continue Big Sky play at Northern Arizona on Sunday, March 22 at 10:00 a.m.
Watch: Kasumi Hirayama clinches the match for Portland State with a three-set win at No. 4 singles.
