SACRAMENTO -- The Sacramento State women's tennis team rallied to take five of the six singles matches on the day — four of those ending in straight-set victories — to help lift the No. 75 Hornets to a 5-2 victory over Portland on Thursday afternoon at the Sacramento State Tennis Complex.
After dropping its last two duals, Sacramento State returned to the win column and improved to 8-2 overall on the season. The Pilots fell to 5-4 overall with the loss.
Portland jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in doubles, finally clinching the point with a win at No. 2 after the tandem of Lou Baudouin and Emilija Pranyte tied things up with a 6-4 win at the No. 3 spot. The Pilots then went up 2-0 in the match with a straight-set victory at No. 2 singles before the Hornets roared back.
Sophomores Irene Riva and Elena Mercioiu took care of their respective singles contests at No. 6 and No. 5, with Riva getting Sacramento State on the board with a 6-3, 6-3, win over Maria Galatescu, and Mercioiu tying things up with a 7-5, 6-2, win over Nadine Arbaizar Martinez.
Senior Maddy Ferreros needed three sets, but gave the Hornets their first lead of the match with a, 6-1, 4-6, 6-3, win over Sally Pethybridge at the No. 1 spot, setting the stage for Baudouin's clincher at No. 3, defeating Aleksandra Dimitrijevic, 7-5, 7-6 (2).
Pranyte then finished off the day with a straight-set win over Isabella Marquart, 7-6 (5), 7-5.
For the fifth time in nine matches this season, Ferreros went three sets, improving to 3-2 overall on the year in those contests. Meanwhile, Baudouin posted her third match-clinching point of the season, leading the team in that category.
Since returning from injury, Riva remained unbeaten in singles play at 3-0, while Pranyte improved to 5-1 at the No 4 spot in the singles lineup. Mercioiu and Baudouin each won their team-best seventh singles contests of the year, with the former improving to a team-best 7-1 on the season — including a 6-0 record at No. 5 in the lineup.
Sacramento State gets its first taste of Big Sky Conference play this weekend, opening the conference schedule against Montana on Sunday (March 9) at 10 a.m.
NCAA WOMEN'S TENNIS
#75 Sacramento State 5, Portland 2
March 6, 2025 // Sacramento, Calif. (Sacramento State Tennis Complex)
DOUBLES
1. Sally Pethybridge / Alaia Rubio Perez (UP) def. Weronika Ejsmont / Palina Saulevich (SAC), 6-3
2. Aleksandra Dimitrijevic / Nadine Arbaizar Martinez (UP) def. Maddy Ferreros / Irene Riva (SAC), 6-3
3. Lou Baudouin / Emilija Pranyte (SAC) def. Lexie Flores / Isabella Marquart (UP), 6-4
Order of finish: 3, 1, 2*
SINGLES
1. Maddy Ferreros (SAC) def. Sally Pethybridge (UP), 6-1, 4-6, 6-3
2. Alalia Rubio Perez (UP) def. Reese Walker (SAC), 6-2, 7-5
3. Lou Baudouin (SAC) def. Aleksandra Dimitrijevic (UP), 7-5, 7-6 (2)
4. Emilija Pranyte (SAC) def. Isabella Marquart (UP), 7-6 (5), 7-5
5. Elena Mercioiu (SAC) def. Nadine Arbaizar Martinez (UP), 7-5, 6-2
6. Irene Riva (SAC) def. Maria Galatescu (UP), 6-3, 6-3
Order of finish: 2, 6, 5, 1, 3* ,4
