PORTLAND, Ore. – The Portland Pilots women's tennis battled, but ultimately came up short against the Gonzaga Bulldogs, dropping the match 6-1. The loss drops the Pilots to 1-7 on the season and 0-2 in conference play.

Gonzaga got on the board first by earning the doubles point, but the Pilots did not make it easy. Iva Zelic and Emily Soares took the No. 1 doubles match 6-3, the first win of the season for the duo. Following that, both No. 2 and No. 3 doubles matches saw the Zags take an early lead only for the Pilots to claw their way back. Neli Sunjic and Rimona Rouf bounced back from being down 5-0 to steal three sets while Lela Daszuta and Angela Schuster worked their way back after trailing 4-1. Unfortunately, both squads couldn't complete the comeback.

The Pilots fought hard in singles, pushing the Zags to three sets in the No. 1 and No. 2 singles matches. Zelic earned the win in the No. 1 slot. After taking the first set 6-1 and dropping the second set 6-0, Zelic bounced back in a neck-and-neck match to take the final set 6-4. The win marks her fourth this season in singles.

Portland couldn't capitalize in the other matches, however, going winless for the rest of the match. The clinching point came in the No. 5 singles matchup. Gonzaga's Taylor Gruber took down Schuster in straight sets 6-2 and 6-1 respectively to seal the win for the Zags. Daszuta and Marija Elenova would go on to drop their final matches.

Next up, the Pilots will head to San Diego for two weekend matches against the Point Loma Sea Lions and the San Diego Toreros. Portland will face the Sea Lions on Friday, Apr. 2 at 2 p.m. and the Toreros on Saturday, Apr. 3 at 10 a.m. Check PortlandPilots.com for live stat and video options.

Portland 1, Gonzaga 6
Portland, Ore. (Louisiana-Pacific Tennis Center)
Mar. 27, 2021

Singles

1. Iva Zelic (UP) def. Kate Ketels (GU) 6-1, 0-6, 6-4
2. Adrianna Sosnowska (GU) def. Neli Sunjic (UP) 4-6, 6-2, 7-5
3. Haruna Tsuruta (GU) def. Emily Soares (UP) 6-2, 6-4
4. Cate Broerman (GU) def. Marija Elenova (UP) 6-2, 6-2
5. Taylor Gruber (GU) def. Angela Schuster (UP) 6-2, 6-1
6. Hannah Jones (GU) def. Lela Daszuta (UP) 6-4,  6-3

Doubles

1. Zelic/Soares (UP) def. Sosnowska/Jones (GU) 6-3
2. Ketels/Tsuruta (GU) def. Sunjic/Rouf (UP) 6-3
3. Broerman/Gruber (GU) def. Daszuta/Schuster (UP) 6-4

Order of Finish: (Singles: 3,1,2,5,4,6; Doubles: 2,1,3)