Blooming in spring

The arrival of spring has brought new life into the tennis program at Portland State, as both the men’s and women’s tennis teams picked up victories over the weekend.

After falling to the host Broncos in the opening round of the Boise State Invitational, the Portland State women rebounded and defeated Utah State 5-2 to finish their weekend on a positive note.

The victory improved the record of the team composed entirely of freshman to 6-14 on the season, while the Vikings have managed a 2-5 record within Big Sky Conference play.

“We continue to demonstrate that our program is moving forward in a great direction,” head coach Steve Ascher said of his team’s progress during its first season back after a four-year hiatus. “This win felt good for the team as we avenged our earlier loss.”

The warmer weather of the spring months should give the Vikings more opportunities to compete at their home court atop the Stott Center. Portland State has relied on the facilities at the University of Portland for their matches, but will take on the Pilots in a non-conference match at noon Wednesday in the South Park Blocks. It is the Vikings second and final match at home this season.

Despite a tough loss to nationally ranked Boise State on Friday, the Vikings players displayed the resolve that has become the squad’s calling card, defeating a Utah State team that had gotten the best of them less than one month ago.

Notching her seventh win of the season, freshman Molly Knox set the tone for the rest of the team with a victory over Brittney Watts. Freshman Caitlin Stocking recorded two victories over the weekend to improve her record to 6-14, and for the first time this season all three of the Vikings doubles tandems recorded victories to sweep Utah State.

Equally encouraging may be the men’s team who routed Whittier 7-0 over the weekend, earning their fifth victory of the season, before falling at home 7-0 to Eastern Washington Sunday.

Despite being picked to finish last in the conference, the Vikings, who are second to the bottom in the conference standings, will have an opportunity to continue exceeding expectations in their upcoming matches.

In the next week, the Vikings will square off against the upper tier of the teams in the conference in Sacramento State and Northern Arizona. The men have struggled to a 1-5 record in conference play and 5-12 overall thus far this season.

Junior Kyle Erickson and freshman Sean Eberle both earned their seventh individual victory during the win over Whittier, while three other Viking players each have notched six wins thus far this season.

“Throughout the line up, our men have shown a lot of development and continue to raise the level of their games,” Ascher said. “I am excited to see how we continue to grow as a team.”