Contact: Mark Albanese, Director of Sports Communication

Box Score

PORTLAND, Ore. – The Pacific Lutheran University women's tennis squad closed out the opening weekend of Northwest Conference play on Sunday, suffering a 9-0 setback at the hands of nationally-ranked and undefeated Lewis & Clark College.

"Overall I'm happy with the way the women competed but Lewis & Clark was just too tough for us today," said Head Coach Lorrie Wood. "Our goal is to get better with each match. The players took what they learned from yesterday's match against George Fox and played better today. We look forward to next week's matches at home."

The Pioneers (5-0, 2-0 NWC) entered the match ranked 28th in NCAA Division III and eighth in the West Region. The Lutes (1-7, 0-2 NWC) didn't back down against the regional power, battling hard in doubles play. Caroline Dreher and Hannah Jeffries pushed the Pioneers' top doubles team before eventually falling 8-4 while Bayley Gochanour and Lauren Kearney fell victim to the exact same scoreline at No. 2 doubles.

In singles, Dreher fell, 6-1, 6-3, to nationally-ranked Christine Eliazo while Victoria Bolshakova made things difficult for her opponent at No. 5 singles before falling, 7-6, 6-0. Kylie Rademacher proved to be another tough opponent at No. 6, eventually falling, 6-4, 6-1.

The Lutes return to the courts on Saturday, hosting Pacific University at 1 p.m. inside the Sprinker Recreation Center.