Portland women’s tennis opened West Coast Conference play with a 5-2 victory over Santa Clara on March 21 at the Louisiana-Pacific Tennis Center, extending their winning streak to five matches. The Pilots now hold a 6-5 overall record, while the Broncos fell to 3-10 for the season.
The match was decided at No. 6 singles, where Meagan Pearson clinched the win for Portland by defeating Juliette Krumholz in straight sets. The Pilots also secured the doubles point with victories at both the No. 1 and No. 3 positions. Nadine Arbaizar Martinez and Pearson won their match 6-2 at No. 3 doubles, followed by Alaia Rubio Perez and Maria Galatescu who claimed a 6-2 win at the top spot.
In singles play, Dariya Radulova gave Portland an early lead with a straight-set win at No. 2 singles. Although Santa Clara responded with a victory at No. 1 singles, Arbaizar Martinez extended Portland’s advantage by winning her match in three sets at No. 3 singles against TianYu Dong.
Santa Clara narrowed the gap with wins at No. 4 and No. 5 singles, but Pearson’s performance in the final match secured the overall team victory for Portland after taking her first set in a tiebreaker and coming from behind to win the second set.
The Pilots are scheduled to host San Diego next as they continue their conference schedule.
