It was certainly a weekend to forget for both the Portland State men’s and women’s tennis teams, as the squads went a combined 0-7 in matches spanning from last Friday to Sunday.
After traveling to California to take on three tough opponents in the University of Texas- Pan-American, UC Davis and Sacramento State, the Viking men returned home to play in just their third match of the season atop the home courts of the Stott Center Sunday. When all was said and done, Portland State had gone 0-4 during weekend play.
Following the difficult road trip, in which the Vikings came up short in all three of their matches, the team returned home to take on Northern Arizona on Sunday in their final Big Sky Conference match of the season.
The Lumberjacks handed the Vikings their fifth consecutive defeat 6-1, and dropped Portland State’s record to 5-15 and 1-6 in conference play this season.
Freshman Sean Eberle, a local product from Lake Oswego, earned the lone singles’ victory for the Vikings, improving his individual record to 7-5 while playing at the No. 3 position.
Eberle and doubles partner, freshman Alex VanDerschelden, teamed up for the most competitive doubles match of the morning, taking David Flodberg and Jacob Tracy to 8-6 before succumbing to defeat. In the end, Northern Arizona took all three of the doubles matches and improved its Big Sky Conference record to 4-4.
“Despite playing at a bit of a disadvantage this season, they have improved mightily and have played each match competitively,” said head coach Steve Ascher of his men’s team. “The ending score doesn’t always reflect the closeness of the match.”
The men wrapped up their Big Sky Conference season, but will head to Reno, Nev., this weekend to take on Sonoma State and the University of Nevada to conclude their season.
Playing in their final matches of their inaugural season, the women’s tennis team also struggled through their last weekend of play. The Vikings fell to Big Sky foe Montana State 6-1 Friday, before dropping matches against Washington State 6-1 Saturday and Idaho 4-3 Sunday.
Despite the multiple defeats and the 6-17 (2-5 BSC) record, Ascher is proud of his team’s play over the course of the season.
“I think that the players recognize that we are building something positive, and they realize that our goals are more long-term than short-term right now,” Ascher said.
Freshman Caitlin Stocking provided the lone bright spot for the Vikings as she earned a victory over Kara Konomos of Washington State, and teamed with freshman Alyssa Ferry to win two of their three doubles matches on the weekend.
Ascher pointed to Sunday’s contest as evidence of the vastly improved women’s team over the course of the season.
“When we played (Idaho) just one month ago, they dominated us 7-0,” Ascher said. “This match, we played them extremely tough and we were tied 3-3 heading into the last match.”
The tough defeat wraps up the women’s season, though after exceeding expectations for much of the year, Ascher and his players seem excited for next year.
“We are ready to move forward with this great group of players,” Ascher said.