SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Portland dropped another close women's tennis match on Friday, falling 4-3 to the Santa Clara Broncos in a West Coast Conference match at Degheri Tennis Center. The Pilots drop to 4-10 overall and 0-3 in league play, while the Broncos improve to 7-6 and 2-1 in WCC matches.

The Pilots claimed the early momentum by securing the doubles point with wins at the No. 2 and No. 3 positions. After Santa Clara won at No. 1 doubles, the tandem of Radina Dimitrova and Raphaelle Leblanc won 6-4 at No. 2. Freshmen Lourdes Ramalle and Laura Okazaki then clinched with a 6-3 victory at No. 3.

Santa Clara evened the score with a straight sets win at No. 4 singles from Elvena Gevargiz, but the Pilots went back ahead when Jelena Lukic was ahead 1-0 in the third set at the No. 1 position when Madison Clarke retired.

The Broncos took a 3-2 lead with straight set wins at the No. 3 and No. 2 positions, but Pilot sophomore Anna Oberg evened the score with a 7-6, 2-6, 6-1 win at No. 6 singles over Giannina Ong.

The deciding match pitted Katya Tabachnik of Santa Clara against Pilot sophomore Emily Soares. Tabachnik won the first set, but Soares forced a third with a 6-2 win. Tabachnik held on to secure the win for the host Broncos.

Portland will have a quick turnaround and visit San Francisco for another WCC matchup on Saturday at 3 p.m.

Santa Clara 4, Portland 3
Santa Clara, Calif. (Degheri Tennis Center)
March 30, 2018

Singles
1. LUKIC, Jelena (POR) def. Madison Clarke (SCU) 1-6, 6-2, 1-0, retired
2. Maddie Pothoff (SCU) def. DIMITROVA, Radina (POR) 7-5, 6-2
3. Zeina El Tawil (SCU) def. RAMALLE, Lourdes (POR) 6-3, 6-2
4. Elvena Gevargiz (SCU) def. LEBLANC, Raphaelle (POR) 6-4, 6-2
5. Katya Tabachnik (SCU) def. SOARES, Emily (POR) 4-6, 6-4, 6-1
6. OBERG, Anna (POR) def. Giannina Ong (SCU) 7-6, 2-6, 6-1

Doubles
1. Madison Clarke/Maddie Pothoff (SCU) def. LUKIC, Jelena/OBERG, Anna (POR) 6-2
2. DIMITROVA, Radina/LEBLANC, Raphaelle (POR) def. Elvena Gevargiz/Katya Tabachnik (SCU) 6-4
3. RAMALLE, Lourdes/OKAZAKI, Laura (POR) def. Zeina El Tawil/Giannina Ong (SCU) 6-3

Match Notes:
Portland 4-10, 0-3 WCC
Santa Clara 7-6, 2-1 WCC
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (4,1,3,2,6,5)