TACOMA – Pacific Lutheran's quest for a berth in the Northwest Conference Tournament took a hit Friday night, as the Lutes fell 8-1 to cross-town rival Puget Sound in NWC women's tennis action at the UPS Tennis Pavilion.

With three matches remaining in the season, the Lutes are tied for fourth in the conference standings with two points. Friday's loss drops the Lutes' record to 6-3 in conference play, 10-5 overall. Puget Sound improves to 6-4 overall and 5-4 in the NWC. The Lutes host Linfield Saturday at 1 p.m. at Sprinker Recreation Center for their final home match of the season.

The match could have gone very differently from the get-go, as Puget Sound pulled out consecutive narrow victories in the first two doubles matches. Marissa Friedman and Logan Thompson defeated Samantha Lund and Leah Newell by a 9-8 margin, and the team of Malia Ford and Holly Dixon matched that score in a win against Allison McClure and Mariah Siemion.

Siemion picked up the Lutes' lone win of the day, claiming the victory at No. 5 singles. She defeated Sarah Nielsen 6-4, 6-2. Newell nearly gave the Lutes another win at No. 2 singles, bouncing back from a 6-4 opening-set loss to tie it up with a 6-2 set victory before falling in a 12-10 super tiebreaker.