Track
Four Viks competed in the Oregon Relays last weekend, competing in the 400, 800 and 110 meter hurdles at Hayward Field, hosted by the University of Oregon. Katie Camarena and Jordan Macintosh raced unattached and had solid times as well. Macintosh ran a 3:45.42 1500m, finishing in fourth while Camarena ran a 4:14.44 1500m, coming in third in her heat. Chase Lovercheck came first in his heat of the men’s 800 meters, a little less than a second faster than the University of Portland rival, who came in second. The Viks now get ready to travel to Corvallis for the Oregon State University High Performance Meet on April 29 and 30.
Men’s Results:
400m:
- Harley Montgomery, 50.62
800m (Open):
- Chase Lovercheck, 1:51.63
- James Bottrill, 1:54.53
110H:
- Jordan Gloden, 15.43
Men’s Tennis
The Viks played their last match of the regular season at home against the Idaho Vandals as they also honored their senior, Otto Holtari. Nils Plutat and Oliver Richards won their doubles match 6-3. Sam De Vries and Tommy Hsu fell 6-4. There was no competitor in the third doubles match so Idaho won by default. In singles, Plutat fell 6-1, 6-0. Hsu fell in three, 3-6, 6-7 (4), 10-5. Richards also fell 6-0, 3-6, 1-6. Sam De Vries fell 6-2, 6-2. Holtari fell 6-2, 6-2 as well. #6 singles was won by default because there were no players. The Vandals went on to beat the Vikings 7-0. Idaho advanced to second place, going 7-1 in conference, sharing a Big Sky championship with Montana State. Portland State finished their season 3-14 and 1-7 in conference. A notable win came from the close 4-3 win over Eastern Washington.
Women’s Tennis
These Vikings prepared for a chance at competing in the Big Sky championship starting on Thursday, hosted in Phoenix, Arizona. The Viks finished 8-11 overall and 3-5 in conference, taking fifth place in the conference. They need to be in the top six to compete in Phoenix. A notable win this season came from a 5-2 win over Eastern Washington, with Nika Beukers, Makoto Ohara, Capu Sanoner and Emily Rees winning their singles matches on senior day, when recognizing senior Jacinta Milenkoski.
Volleyball
The Viks continued their spring Volleyball season with a win over Division II Central Washington and NAIA Eastern Oregon on Saturday. The last spring game of the season is against the Oregon Ducks, hosted right here in the Viking Pavilion on May 6 at 3 p.m. Their conference schedule for next year has been released, starting with our rivals the Weber State Wildcats at the Pavilion on Sept. 22. Nov. 19 is the last conference game, playing away against Sacramento State. The Viks went 20-11 last season, finishing third in the Big Sky and going 12-4 in conference. They lost to Northern Colorado in the conference semifinals, but saw some postseason action at the National Invitational Volleyball Championship with a win over Pacific—but a loss to Weber State as well.
Softball
The Viks had a quick trip to Eugene to play #17 in the nation, the Oregon Ducks. Oregon scored first on an error by the Viks in the third inning and the ball kept rolling. A single by the Ducks made the game a 2-0 lead in the third. A homerun in the fourth made it 3-0 Ducks. The Ducks were up 5-0 in the fifth inning—and proved that they were nationally ranked for a reason. All the action came from the Viks in the top of the last inning. Logan Riggenbach scored on a wild pitch, and Natalia Martinez homered to left field—making a statement and letting the Ducks know they were not done. The Ducks won 5-2 in the one-game series and non-conference game. The Viks had three errors and four hits, while the Ducks had five hits and no errors. Olivia Grey went 15-6 this season, pitching six innings. Riggenbach and Matinez both went 1-3, but earned one run late for the Viks. The Viks are now 24-15 while the Ducks are 26-13 this season. Next on the schedule is a trip to Idaho State in a three-game series on April 29. The last series of the regular season is May 6 against the Weber State Wildcats.
NSCA All-American
In early April, two Viks were awarded All-American Strength and Conditioning Athlete of the Year award, crowned by the National Strength and Conditioning Association. Softball first base player Emily Johansen and basketball forward Trey Wood were both awarded following the announcement on April 11.
Portland Timbers
Coming off a draw in Houston against the Dynamo, the Timbers did it again—sharing a point following the draw with Real Salt Lake. The Timbers had 15, three coming from Bill Tuiloma and five shots on goal. Three corner kicks and two saves came from the Timbers. Only five total shots came from Salt Lake, with two shots on goal by Maikel Chang and Sergio Córdova. 11 fouls came from Salt Lake as well, but the Timbers outfouled them with 15. Despite one corner kick from Salt Lake, five saves kept their clean sheet.
Cristhian Paredes in the 38th minute had an impressive kick from 35 yards just hitting the net—having the goalie extend and reach for the ball. Portland had possession of the ball 65.6% of the time, with five shots on goal compared to Salt Lake’s two. They also had five blocked shots compared to Salt Lake’s two. The Timbers also had a record 626 passes that match. Three yellow cards also came from Portland—Claudio Bravo in the 77th minute, Larrys Mabiala in the 86th minute and Paredes in the 90+2.
The Timbers are now 2-2-5 with 11 points this season, sitting in ninth place. Real Salt Lake is 3-2-4 with 13 points, sitting sixth in the west. Their next challenge is in Colorado, facing the Colorado Rapids on April 30.