Pilots Knock Off Montana
PORTLAND, Ore. --- Portland’s top four players picked up victories, including three set wins from seniors Sabine Fuchs and Valeska Hoath, as the Portland Pilots picked up a 4-3 win over the Montana Grizzlies Friday afternoon at the Louisiana-Pacific Tennis Center.
Portland is back at .500 (6-6) following the win over Montana (7-5), an affair that lasted over six hours.
“It took the whole team to pull this one off today,” Portland head coach Susie-Campbell Gross said following the match. “Every one of our players put themselves in a position to be successful and it showed.”
After Montana swept the doubles matches to take a 1-0 lead, Portland’s top two players responded to put the Pilots on top. Freshman Maja Mladenovic posted a 7-5, 6-3 win over Heather Davidson from the top spot while sophomore Nastya Polyakova followed with a 7-5, 6-4 victory over Sasha Carter.
The close scores were the theme of the day with the final four points up for grabs.
Fuchs and Hoath started strong for the Pilots in their respective matches. Fuchs opened with a 6-0 first set from the third sport as Hoath took the first set with a 6-3 score.
Fuchs had a chance to pick up the straight set victory over Haley Driver, but Driver held her off with a 7-5 second set. Portland’s sole seniors stepped up in the third sets, however, each posting scores of 6-3 to knock off their opponents and snap Montana’s five match win streak.
“Valeska’s clinching match was an exclamation point on a great team effort,” added Campbell-Gross. “It was a hard fought battle and we are feeling really good about where we are at this point in the season. We’re ready and excited to resume conference play tomorrow.”
Portland resumes action on Saturday, continuing West Coast Conference play as the Gonzaga Bulldogs come to The Bluff. The match will start at 11 a.m. in the Louisiana-Pacific Tennis Center.
