Author: Alex Moore

After three straight seasons of postseason appearances, the Portland State Vikings are returning to action this Friday against University of California, Irvine, at the Stott Center.

The Vikings were picked to finish first in the Big Sky Conference in both the coaches and media preseason polls. Portland State won the Big Sky Conference last season, and success has been a common theme throughout the career of Viking head coach Sherri Murrell, who has won a remarkable 83 games in her three-year tenure at Portland State.

Portland State returns the reigning Big Sky MVP in senior guard Eryn Jones, the team’s returning leading scorer at 13.9 points per game. Junior guard Courtney VanBrocklin won the Newcomer of the Year award and was second on the team in scoring with 13.4 points per game.

In her first collegiate performance, freshman Allison Greene stole the spotlight, as the Portland State women’s basketball team took care of business in their exhibition opener on Friday night at the Stott Center. The reigning Big Sky champion Vikings, who are picked to win the conference again in both the preseason coaches and media polls, cruised to an 85-69 victory over the Division II Central Washington Wildcats in front of an enthusiastic home crowd.

Although the game was simply a preseason warm-up before the team’s season opener on Nov. 11, the Vikings and Greene looked to find their mid-season form after a slow first half. Greene scored 21 points, shooting 9 of ten from the field to lead all scorers.

An arm wrestling match determined the fate of the annual alumni women’s soccer game Sunday at Hillsboro Stadium.

The arm wrestling match decided who got the ball first, and it kicked-off the postseason for the Portland State Vikings, who play in the Big Sky Championship tournament next weekend. The Vikings got this past week off from conference competition, but instead of simply relaxing they played the alumni game to keep sharp and ready for next weekend’s win-or-go-home game against the Weber State Wildcats.

The fourth round was the last one for the Portland State Vikings men’s tennis team in the ITA Northwest Regional Championships, as junior Mitch Somach lost to ninth-seeded Robert Stineman.

When the Portland State Vikings (8-7-2 overall, 4-1-2 Big Sky) needed to win, they did exactly that. In two of the most important games of the season, the Vikings defeated the Weber State Wildcats (6-10-1, 4-2-1) and the Idaho State Bengals (5-11-1, 2-5-0) to clinch a share of the Big Sky regular season championship.

The final two games of the regular season may be the most important, as Portland State (6-7-2 overall, 2-1-1 Big Sky Conference) hosts Weber State (5-9-1, 3-1-1) and plays at Idaho State (4-10-1, 1-4-0) this weekend, in games that will directly determine their place in the Big Sky Conference standings and tournament.

This past weekend at the Cowgirl Desert Invitational, the Portland State women’s golf team shot their way to a ninth place finish led by junior Britney Yada, who tied for second overall on the final day of the tournament. The tournament was the fourth in the past month for the reigning 2010–11 Big Sky-winning Vikings and marked the end of the golf team’s fall season.

The Portland State fall softball season is more than a short eight game schedule against the likes of Oregon, Oregon State and the National Pro Fastpitch All Stars. The fall campaign is about getting used to new faces out on the field and seeing which players are best at which positions.

The Portland Timbers came into their road match with the Vancouver Whitecaps knowing they needed three points to keep their playoff hopes alive. With a goal in the 25th minute by forward Kenny Cooper, the Timbers escaped BC Palace with a win and moved into a 10th-place tie for the final playoff spot with the New York Red Bulls.