CHENEY, Wash. – The Eastern Washington University women's tennis team prepares for a weekend road and home split as they look to travel to Idaho this Saturday (Feb. 29) and then host Portland State the next day (Mar. 1) at the Jim Thorpe Fieldhouse. The Eagles face the Vandals in Moscow, Idaho, at 1 p.m. Pacific time while Sunday's match begins at 12 p.m. PT.

"We are looking forward to more tough conference competition this weekend. I expect both matches to be extremely competitive and we know they could go either way," said head coach Dustin Hinson. "That's how tight things are in the Big Sky. We have to be able to step up in tight moments and play relaxed during pressured situations. I know we have the ability to do that and we have the grit to do well. I expect my athletes to be ready to compete at their best on match day."

The Eagles began Big Sky Conference play 1-0 after hosting Idaho State (Feb. 15) and defeating them 6-1. They are currently 3-3 overall with a 2-0 home record and sit in second-place in the conference behind Idaho.

KNOWING YOUR OPPONENT – IDAHO

EWU has a 4-37 overall series record and a one-match winning streak versus the Vandals. Last year, the Eagles defeated Idaho at home 4-3 but finished the season with the same 8-2 conference record.

Idaho is currently 2-5 overall and leading the Big Sky Conference with a 2-0 record after defeating Idaho State and Northern Colorado. The Vandals were predicted to finish third in the conference, trimming EWU by 12 points in the 2020 Big Sky Preseason Coaches' Poll.

The Vandals are led by head coach Babar Akbar, who enters his third season at the helm. The team returns junior Marta Magalhaes who ended with a 12-7 overall record and a 9-1 conference record in singles play last season.
 
KNOWING YOUR OPPONENT – PORTLAND STATE

The Eagles have an overall series record of 23-5 versus the Vikings and a three-match win streak, with their last loss dated back to April of 2014. In the last two seasons, EWU has defeated PSU by a score of five or more, home and away.

PSU finished the conference in ninth place last season with a 2-8 conference record. The Vikings were projected to finish 10^th in the conference according to the 2020 Big Sky Preseason Coaches' Poll as they currently sit in fourth-place.

Portland State has a current overall record of 3-4 and an even 1-1 conference record. The team is scheduled to face Gonzaga on Saturday (Feb. 29) before facing the Eagles on Sunday (Mar. 1).  

The Vikings lost to Northern Arizona 6-1 last week but defeated Southern Utah 7-0 a few weeks prior. PSU is led by Kyle Russell who enters his first season as head coach, as the team returns senior Eszter Zador who completed singles play with a conference record of 7-3 last season.  

WHAT'S NEXT

The Eagles host conference opponent Southern Utah next Friday (Mar. 6) at the Jim Thorpe Fieldhouse beginning at 2 p.m. PT.