This is the 10th in a series of stories on Portland State student-athletes who've earned Endowed Scholarships. For all the stories, click on the FEATURES link just above the Viking Vision video box at GoViks.com.

As a junior last year, PSU women's tennis player Megan Govi said her year went "better than I could have hoped."
 
At the No. 4 singles and No. 1 doubles slots for the Viking team, this year's co-recipient of the Alice and Taylor Alexander Endowed Scholarship did, indeed, have a year for the record books.
 
During the season, she became the Vikings' all-time singles wins leader and moved up to number two in individual doubles wins, ranking just two wins behind Anya Dalkin at 28 doubles wins going into her senior season.
 
Govi also broke the single-season record for Big Sky doubles wins (which she set her sophomore year with Kelsey Frey) at six with partner Dané Vorster, and was named an All-Big Sky honorable mention for the second straight season.
 
And none of that came as a surprise to 5th-year head women's tennis coach Jay Sterling.
 
"Megan had a good sophomore year. I expect everyone to improve each year and she did that," said Sterling of the senior-to-be from San Rafael, Calif.
 
For Govi, that improvement was most noticeable in her physical and mental condition.
 
"I made leaps in my tennis game that translated to my off-court life," Govi said of her improvements. "I felt much stronger and completely in control of my emotions, allowing me to perform at a higher level."
 
And with that, Govi was able to raise her game to meet a new level of competition.
 
"Last year, she played at No. 1 doubles and that was a big challenge for her. No. 1 doubles is a really high level of doubles and she needed to improve her volleys. She was a little nervous, but I felt that her and Dané's game would mesh well together," Sterling said.
 
Her personal goal for the year was to become more fit and to develop a more offensive and aggressive style of play. And that sigh of relief you heard from the animal world was Govi's decision to become a vegetarian in pursuit of that goal.
 
"I completely changed my diet to a vegan diet. (That) made me feel cleaner and lighter, but also gave me a sense of control over my emotions and allowed me to feel more in touch with my body," Govi said.
 
Of course, it wasn't all the diet change.
 
"To accomplish a more aggressive game style, coach Sterling worked with me on my transition balls, specifically taking the ball out of the air," said Govi. "Eventually, I found it more natural to incorporate these strategies into a match. I also believe that my increased mindfulness from my diet change allowed me to think more clearly on the court and make better decisions."
 
She lists going to the conference championships (where she and Vorster defeated the No. 1 Montana State doubles team in the quarterfinals) as the highlight of her year.
 
"I played the best tennis of my life and was so proud of my fellow Vikings for the heart they showed on court. It was spectacular," she recalled. The Viking women's team ended up third in conference, its highest finish ever.
 
Govi goes into her senior year on track to graduate in communication and community health. She's carrying a 3.93 cumulative GPA and, for the third year in a row, was named an All-Big Sky academic selection and an Intercollegiate Tennis Association Scholar Athlete.
 
Next season, Govi said she wants to work with incoming players and underclassmen "to achieve a mindfulness and peace towards tennis which will keep them patient in matches and in practice."
 
To help her do that, she's coaching tennis over the summer and practicing those strategies with the players she coaches.
 
Well, that's not exactly all she's doing.
 
Besides coaching tennis, "this summer, I'm talking Film Acting classes in San Francisco, running 70 miles a week with my brother (a track athlete at UCLA) and playing a lot of tennis. I'm also working on my fitness."
 
And Sterling has put his mark on Govi's summer activities.
 
"Next year, my expectations for her are for her to continue to improve. I've given her things to do for growth over the summer…taking balls out of the air and trying to continue to improve her volleys. She's known for having long matches. As a senior we want her to shorten her matches. She needs the confidence to come forward…that and improve her volleys," he said.
 
If her game takes another major leap forward, she could have another year on the court that she said would be better than she could hope for. And that, would make her senior season quite a year, too.