BEAVERTON, Ore. - The Portland State women's tennis team played Portland wire-to-wire on Saturday afternoon, but were unable to pull off the victory, falling 4-3 in its home opener at the Tualatin Hills Tennis Center.

The Pilots clinched the match with two three-set singles wins down the stretch as they improved to 2-0 on the season. The Vikings dropped to 1-2.

"This team is a coach's dream," Viking Head Coach Kyle Russell said after the loss. "They compete so hard and represent their university so well. These matches come down to a couple of points sometimes but the Viks came to play today and I'm really proud of them."

Saturday's match did indeed come down to a couple of points, with the final three singles matches going to a third set. Despite the tense ending, UP had a convincing start, securing the opening point with a pair of doubles wins.

The Vikings needed four singles wins to clinch the match and they didn't shy away from the challenge. Nika Beukers was the first to pull off a victory for PSU, beating Sally Pethybridge 6-3, 6-3 at No. 2 singles. Shortly after, Viking freshman Scarlett Perkins gave Portland State its second point of the day with a 7-5, 6-3 win over Nadine Arbaizar Martinez on court five. After a Pilot victory on court one, the remaining three matches went to third sets.

A 6-0 loss didn't affect Maddie Egan's game at No. 6 singles, as she came back to win 5-7 in set two. Makoto Ohara had a similar start on court three, dropping her opening set 6-2 before responding with a 6-2 win of her own in the second set. Meanwhile, Momoko Yoshimura was pushed to a third set at the No. 4 spot, despite a strong 6-4 set-one victory.

In the end, Portland's Aleksandra Dimitrijevic scratched her way to a 4-6, 6-2, 7-5 over Yoshimura. Her teammate, Meagan Pearson, did the same against Egan on court six, gutting out a 6-0, 5-7, 6-4 win to clinch the match for the Pilots.

Despite the clinch, Ohara continued to battle on court three. The senior fought her way to a thrilling 2-6, 6-2, 7-6 (6) comeback win over Alaia Rubio Perez to finish the day.

A pair of road matches await the Vikings next weekend beginning with the Academy of Art on Thursday, Feb. 1. They'll take on Santa Clara on Friday, Feb. 2 before returning home to host Washington State on Feb. 10 at the Tualatin Hills Tennis Center.