Hacked by the Jacks

Just when it looked as though the Portland State men’s tennis team had turned the corner in conference play and was ready to contend for a semi-final berth, the team was dealt another severe blow to its playoff aspirations. The Vikings lost 0-7 to Northern Arizona in Flagstaff, Ariz. on Saturday.

The match against the Lumberjacks was critical for reviving Portland State’s conference fortunes. Heading into the weekend, the Viks needed a big win to elevate them out of their ninth-place position in the Big Sky. Last year, the team had just missed out on a playoff position, finishing fifth in the conference under head coach Jay Sterling.

In their previous game, the Vikings had registered an emphatic 7-0 win against Northern Colorado at home, their first conference win after narrowly going down to Sacramento State (3-4) and Weber State (3-4) in their first two matches.

On the other hand, Northern Arizona had yet to begin Big Sky play with a 2-9 overall record heading into the weekend. On Saturday however, Northern Arizona seemed to be prepared for the Viking onslaught.

The Viks drew first blood in the doubles match. The pair of sophomore Mitch Somach and senior Alex VanDerschelden won their duel against Northern Arizona’s David Flodberg and Robin Pezzutto 8-5. But the Vikings lost the other two doubles matches and, ultimately, the doubles point.

The story in the singles contests wasn’t much better. Except for VanDerschelden, all the other Viks went down in straight sets to their opponents. Playing at line two, VanDerschelden won his first set 6-4, but lost the following two sets 4-6 and 3-6, losing the match to Northern Arizona’s Patrick Shimmenlbauer. VanDerschelden has been Portland State’s most consistent singles player this season, with five wins and five loses in 2011.

Overall, the Viks lost all six singles matches and were humbled 0-7 by Northern Arizona. Last year, the Viks lost to the Lumberjacks with a 2-5 scoreline. With this result, Portland State slips to the bottom of the Big Sky table. They are now 1-3 in the conference and 4-7 overall in 2011.

So far this season, the Viks have won 13 doubles duels and lost 20. The singles performance stands at a 0.365 win-percentage with 24 wins and 42 losses total in 2011.

Sterling has urged the team to not to hang their heads and to continue to focus on creating chances.

“It is imperative that we turn the corner and start to win key matches,” Sterling said earlier this season. “We have given ourselves the opportunities in both our matches, but we haven’t quite closed them out and taken advantages of these opportunities.”

With just three conference games left, the Viks must win all three and hope for favorable results elsewhere to stand a chance of qualifying for the playoffs. The Viks now take a break from tennis and will next play city rivals the University of Portland on April 2. ?