Pilots Easily Handle Zags in WCC Affair
PORTLAND, Ore. --- The Portland Pilots women’s tennis team cruised to a 6-1 victory over the Gonzaga Bulldogs Saturday at the Louisiana-Pacific Tennis Center, picking up four straight set victories in the process.
Having won back-to-back matches, the Pilots are once again above .500 with a 7-6 record including a 1-1 mark in the West Coast Conference. Gonzaga falls to 6-4 with an 0-2 WCC record.
“Today was one of those matches where everything fell into place at the perfect moment,” said Portland head coach Susie Campbell-Gross. “All the hard work we put in over the last six months really showed and the girls set a new standard for our program with their performance today.”
In a turnaround from Friday’s match, the Portland opened the match by sweeping the doubles point. Senior Valeska Hoath and freshman Tori Troesch posted a 9-7 victory from the top position, while senior Sabine Fuchs and sophomore Nastya Polyakova edge out Samantha Polayes and Melanie Yates, 9-8, in the second position.
The freshman tandem of Maja Mladenovic and Emily Gould cruised to an 8-5 victory over Franziska Koehler and Alexandra Tallas.
The Bulldogs posed little trouble for the Pilots in singles play as Polyakova, Fuchs, and freshman Saroop Dhatt picked up quick victories. Dhatt posted a 6-2, 6-0 victory from the sixth spot to snap a four match losing streak.
Troesch also picked up a straight set victory from the fifth spot with a 6-1 second set after holding off Tallas 7-6 in the first set.
Mladenovic needed three sets to knock off a tough opponent in Katie Edwards, which clinched the victory for Portland.
“We have a hard working group of tennis players on the team this year and the effort they put into it really showed this weekend.” Added Campbell-Gross, “Our main goal is still the continuous improvement. If we continue to improve at this rate, the results will follow.”
Gonzaga’s only point came from the fourth spot where Hoath retired with a grueling first set just one day removed a lengthy three set match.
The Pilots now get 10 days off before returning to action. Portland will head to Provo for a WCC match against the BYU Cougars on Wednesday, March 20, at 9 a.m. (PST).
