It’s been a tough season for the Portland State tennis program. The men’s (2-16 overall, 0-7 conference) and women’s (3-14 overall, 0-6 conference) teams have fallen short of their goal of qualifying for the Big Sky Conference playoffs. In fact, they have yet to win a conference game this season.
However, this weekend they could change that and earn their first Big Sky victory of 2012. This Saturday, the men’s tennis team will play Northern Arizona at Club Green Meadows in Vancouver, Wash., in their last game of the season. On the other hand, the women’s tennis team will host a double-conference weekend with games against Weber State on Friday and Northern Arizona on Saturday at the same venue.
“This weekend’s matches are important for a lot of reasons,” third-year tennis head coach Jay Sterling said. “We are playing for pride and it’s important for next season. It’s important to finish on a positive note and build on it during the summer.”
Playing at home, the men’s tennis team will fancy their chances against Northern Arizona. Like Portland State, the Lumberjacks are out of contention for the playoffs. They currently have a 1-6 record in the conference and 4-16 overall, which is very close to the Vikings’ record this season.
Both the Vikings and Northern Arizona will look forward to breaking their losing streaks. The Vikings are on a nine-game losing streak while the Lumberjacks have lost eight games in a row.
“On the men’s side, Northern Arizona are a tough team to play,” Sterling said. “Our men are going to have to dig deep. I was a little disappointed with our effort against Sacramento State. What I was hoping for was that our confidence would be growing and our play would be improving, but it didn’t happen that way.”
Last weekend, the men’s team suffered three 0-7 losses on the road against New Mexico State, Nevada and Sacramento.
“We are not happy with that,” Sterling said. “It’s been the story of the season. Our guys competed well and fought hard but gave up breakpoint opportunities. We can’t seem to find the next gear to close these matches out.”
However, Sterling is optimistic about the game against Northern Arizona.
“We are prepared against Northern Arizona, but our guys will have to compete a little harder and play a little harder,” Sterling added.
For the women’s side, the weekend will begin on Friday with a match against Weber State.
“Weber State has been on our radar,” Sterling said. “There were five teams we thought we were good enough to beat this year, even without our full lineup. We have the ability, the heart and the drive to beat them but we will have to play our best tennis.”
The women’s team lost 5-2 at Seattle University last weekend and are currently on a three-game losing streak. Both teams have faced each other twice this year.
“We went 5-2 against Seattle earlier in the season and played tough against them. We were looking forward to the rematch. Not having our full line up and missing our top players is tough. The players are still competing hard. But we are lacking the depth in our line-up.”
On Saturday, spectators will be treated to a double delight as both the men’s and the women’s tennis teams will play their last games of the season simultaneously at Club Green Meadows.