PORTLAND, Ore. – The Portland women's tennis team picked up an important 5-2 win against Gonzaga on Saturday and kept alive the possibility for a spot at next week's West Coast Conference Championships in San Diego. The Pilots improve to 10-8 overall and 2-5 in WCC play, while the Bulldogs fall to 13-11 and 4-5 in league play.

The top six teams ranked in next week's ITA National Rankings will earn a spot at the WCC Championships. Portland entered the week as the seventh highest ranked team, trailing Saint Mary's and San Francisco, slightly. The Gaels dropped home matches to San Diego and BYU, while the Dons fell on the road to Pepperdine and LMU. The official WCC bracket is expected to be announced by Monday.

Saturday was all Portland from the outset. The Pilots controlled the doubles point with the newly-ranked tandem of Iva Zelic and Sally Pethybridge defeating Kianna Oda and Adrianna Sosnowska 6-4. Rimona Rouf and Aleksandra Dimitrijevic then clinched with a 6-2 win versus Cate Broerman and Jenna Sloan at No. 2 doubles.

Portland then took the top three singles matches in straight sets to put the Bulldogs away. Zelic cruised to a 6-1, 6-3 win against Broerman at the No. 1 spot. Rouf defeated Oda 6-4, 6-2 at No. 3 and then Pethybridge provided the clinching point with a 6-2, 7-6 victory against Sosnowska at No. 2.

Alaia Rubio Perez recorded Portland's final point with a straight sets win at No. 6, while Gonzaga picked up wins at No. 4 and No. 5 to complete the scoring.

The 2023 WCC Championships will be hosted at the Aztec Tennis Complex in San Diego on April 27-29. Thursday's opening round matches with feature No. 3 vs. No. 6 and No. 4 vs. No. 5 with the winners advancing to face the top two seeds in Friday's semifinals. Portland's men's team has already secured a spot at the tournament.

Portland 5, Gonzaga 2
Portland, Ore. (Louisiana Pacific Tennis Center)
April 22, 2023

Singles
1. Iva Zelic (POR) def. Cate Broerman (GON) 6-1, 6-3
2. Sally Pethybridge (POR) def. Adrianna Sosnowska (GON) 6-2, 7-6 (7-5)
3. Rimona Rouf (POR) def. Kianna Oda (GON) 6-4, 6-2
4. Jenna Sloan (GON) def. Aleksandra Dimitrijevic (POR) 6-4, 6-4
5. Tiegan Aitken (GON) def. Meagan Pearson (POR) 6-4, 6-4
6. Alaia Rubio Perez (POR) def. Rose Hayes (GON) 6-3, 6-3

Doubles
1. #84 Zelic/Pethybridge (POR) def. Oda/Sosnowska (GON) 6-4
2. Rouf/Dimitrijevic (POR) def. Broerman/Sloan (GON) 6-2
3. Pearson/Rubio Perez (POR) vs. Aitken/Hayes (GON) 4-5, unfinished

Match Notes:
Gonzaga 13-11, 4-5 WCC
Portland 10-8, 2-5 WCC
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2); Singles (1,2,3)