Box Score BEAVERTON, Ore. – The Portland State women's tennis team had a strong start to its conference schedule on Saturday, defeating Idaho State 5-2 at the Tualatin Hills Tennis Center. The Vikings improved to 5-2 (1-0 BSC) while the Bengals fell to 6-3 (2-1 BSC).
 
"Our team's effort today was amazing," Viking junior Capu Sanoner said. "We fought together from start to finish. We started off strong with big doubles wins which gave us a lot of confidence heading into singles."
 
The Vikings won two of three matches to clinch the doubles point. Sanoner and Masha Ponomareva remained undefeated as a pair, cruising to a 6-1 win over Lola and Sol O'Lideadha at the No. 1 spot. On court three, Nika Beukers and Makoto Ohara battled their way to a 6-4 defeat of Sydney Morris and Megan Lang-Gould.
 
Ponomareva, Sanoner, Ohara and Beukers all finished the afternoon 2-0 after each posting wins in singles play. On the top two courts, Ponomareva defeated Hana Cho 6-4, 6-2 while Sanoner topped O'Lideadha 6-3, 6-2. Beukers was dominant at the No. 4 position, winning her match 6-2, 6-0 over Lang-Gould. Playing in her first dual since Feb. 6, Ohara earned a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Stefanya Shalakhova.
 
"Getting our first conference win on our home court feels great and gives us energy to keep practicing hard every day," Sanoner said. 
 
The Vikings will have a week to do so as they prepare to take on preseason favorite Northern Arizona on Saturday, March 4 at the Tualatin Hills Tennis Center (11 a.m.)