PORTLAND, Ore. – The Portland women's tennis team will host a pair of nationally ranked West Coast Conference opponents this weekend at the Louisiana-Pacific Tennis Center. The Pilots (10-8, 3-2 WCC) welcome No. 7 Pepperdine on Saturday and No. 22 San Diego on Sunday, with both matches starting at 10 a.m.

"This is an exciting weekend for our program and for the entire Portland tennis community as we have not had an opportunity to host too many teams of this level over the years," Portland head coach Filip Zivkovic said. "Pepperdine is a perennial NCAA Championship contender and they have been as high as No. 3 in the nation this year, while San Diego has consistently been in the Top 20. They have a lot of experience playing at a high level and this will be a great opportunity for us to showcase the growth of our players and our program."

Pepperdine (11-6, 2-0 WCC) has notable wins against No. 9 California, two victories against No. 10 USC, and wins versus No. 13 Florida, No. 14 Auburn and No. 16 Ohio State. The Waves' only losses have come against No. 1 Oklahoma State, No. 2 Michigan, No. 3 Stanford, No. 5 Virginia, No. 9 California and No. 15 UCLA.  

Pepperdine's lineup features five players ranked in the Top 100 of the ITA Singles Rankings and the No. 2 doubles tandem in the nation in Janice Tjen and Savannah Broadus.

San Diego (12-5, 2-0 WCC) has victories over No. 10 USC, No. 11 Texas A&M, No. 31 Arizona State and No. 45 SMU. The Toreros only losses have come to No. 3 Stanford, No. 9 California, No. 13 Florida, No. 20 Oklahoma and No. 26 Washington.

San Diego features a pair of ranked singles players in No. 55 Claudia De Las Heras and No. 57 Mia Mack.

"We are having a great year in our own right," Zivkovic noted. "Our win against LMU was a great step in the right direction. We are very strong at the top and we have more depth this year than at any time in the past. I am confident that we have what it takes to compete with both of this teams and I am looking forward to our players showcasing their growth."

Portland senior Iva Zelic, named the WCC Singles Player of the Week on Monday, is 12-3 at No. 1 dual singles, including a 4-1 mark against WCC opponents. Pilot junior Sally Pethybridge is 15-3 this Spring in singles and 4-1 in WCC matches. Zelic and Pethybridge are also 10-2 at No. 1 doubles.

Live scoring and video links for both matches will be available at PortlandPilots.com. The Pilots are competing for a top six finish in the WCC standings, which will earn a berth to the WCC Tournament held April 25-27 at San Diego State's Aztec Tennis Center.
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