Sports are perhaps what colleges and universities become most well known for. Basketball and football games garner attendance and fan enthusiasm generally reserved for pro levels. Debates over whether the Beavers or Ducks are the greatest are commonplace here in Oregon—and just for the record, neither team could stand against the might of a Viking’s brutal sword. Some of Portland State’s sports teams faced difficulty over the past year while others achieved stunning success.
Prior athletic sensations, such as the Vikings’ entrances into the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, failed to be repeated. The football team’s season wasn’t terribly notable, either. The team also lost head coach Jerry Glanville, but with a new head coach in place, the team is rebuilding and hoping for better days.
But those are the more popular sports—the ones commonly talked about on TV, radio or within the halls of PSU. For one reason or another they overshadow the achievements of the other Portland State teams. There is rarely talk of the many other sporting events colleges foster. This year Portland State had a number of teams—particularly the women’s—that gave us all something to talk about.
Women’s soccer won the regular season title—the second the program has earned in 13 years—and hosted the Big Sky Championship. When all was said and done, the team left the season with a 10-6-4 overall record. Coach Laura Schott was Coach of the Year, while senior Cris Lewis earned Defensive MVP and senior Dolly Enneking was named Offensive MVP, also taking home the Golden Boot award.
The women’s volleyball team achieved success as the conference tournament champions. Senior Nique Fradella was honored as the Big Sky Conference MVP and junior Whitney Phillips was named Top Newcomer.
Women’s golf swung into the conference tournament and came out the champion. Kathleen Takaishi picked up the Coach of the Year award and freshman Britney Yada received All-Big Sky Conference as well as All-Big Sky Tournament honors.
Portland State’s women’s basketball team deserves great praise for its championship in the conference tournament. The team was seeded as No. 5 out of six teams and became the lowest seeded team to ever win the conference tournament. That was all before it took PSU’s women’s basketball to the Division I NCAA tournament for the very first time.
Our softball team won the division pennant this year. Senior Brandi Scoggins was named Player of the Year. Freshman Anna Bertrand won Freshman of the Year and was also honored as Mountain Division Pitcher of the Year. If that wasn’t enough, like a softball player with the accuracy and force of Robocop, Bertrand pitched an impressive 218 strikeouts during the season.
While the men’s teams historically seem to dominate the headlines, whether the news is good or bad, PSU’s women are proving that they have game too, and have shown they are certainly something to talk about. Congratulations to our women’s teams this year. You earned it.