In a weekend of pure conference action, the Portland State men’s tennis team lost to Montana (3–4), but reversed the score on Saturday to defeat Eastern Washington (4–3). The Vikings, now 3–5 overall, stand third in the Big Sky with a 2–1 record in conference.
The Vikings entered Friday’s duel against the Grizzlies on the back of last week’s long four-game stretch that saw defeat to three non-conference opponents and an all-important win in the conference matchup with Montana State.
Portland State won the top two singles and the top doubles matches against Montana at the Louisiana-Pacific Tennis Center, but was unable to sustain the momentum. The Vikings lost the other three singles matches and the two remaining doubles events.
In the deciding doubles match, PSU’s pair of juniors Matt Erickson and Jeff Cero lost their serve and broke to Montana’s Michael Facey and Ben DeMarois to lose the game, 8–6.
“Our guys just got nervous,” said Jay Sterling, interim head coach. “They had held serve fairly easily the entire set, and got a really big break to go up 6–5, but struggled to make serves in their following service games—and the serve is one of the first things to go when the nerves kick in.
“I’m not going to sugarcoat it, it was a tough loss for our team. Montana is a great team, but we fought hard and my players wanted that win really badly,” he said.
In Saturday’s contest, the Vikings shot down the Eastern Washington Eagles at the Club Green Meadows in Vancouver, Wash. Portland State won all three doubles games and three of six singles matches to take the encounter, 4–3.
“Recently, we haven’t been as competitive at the No. 2 doubles spot as I would like us to be, so I decided to make a change. Matt and Jeff have been playing really well at line three, with very competitive scores, so I decided to move them up, and give them a shot at line two,” Sterling said.
At this stage last year, the Viks had a similar 3–5 record, and Sterling is proud of the tenacity the Portland State hitters have shown.
“As a team, I think that we’re all proud of where we are right now, and rightfully so,” he said. “But none of us is content with it, which is a great thing to see as a coach.”
Up next for the men’s team is another home matchup, this time with