Box Score BOZEMAN, Mont. – The Eastern Washington University women's tennis squad traveled to face Montana State today (April 16) and edged out a 4-3 victory in Bozeman, Mont. The Eagles extend their winning streak to four-straight matches, three of which in Big Sky Conference play, while the squad holds an overall 7-8 and undefeated 3-0 league record.

If Montana loses its match against Idaho tonight, the Eagles will clinch a spot in the Big Sky Championships for the third-straight year. Additionally, with a win over the Griz on Sunday, Eastern Washington will win its first-ever Big Sky regular season title.

"Clutch 4-3 matches are becoming quite a trend for us this year. I am proud of the determination and fight we showed in all of our matches today. And this team knows that, win or lose, it takes the whole team to give their best effort and energy to give us the best chance to come out on top," said head coach Dustin Hinson. "And that's what we did again today. We did a great job of getting the doubles point early in the match and then senior captain Zoey Nelson decided a really big win at No.4 singles."

Zoey Nelson, an Arizona native from Goodyear, collected her fourth singles play win which came at a crucial point in the match, something the Eagles have been used to this season as the past two matches required an Eagle uniform to step up to secure the team win.

"We were still down 3-2 in the team score and had to come up with big wins at No.5 and No.6 singles. Renata Gabuzyan and Yasmin Mansouri have been doing it all season long and today was no different. They played smart and really handled the moment with class and grit," added Hinson. "Mansouri finished first at No.6 singles in a dominant performance, which tied the match up at 3-3. Then for the second week in a row, Gabuzyan dug deep to pull out the match-clinching singles win. I'm so proud of this team. We will enjoy this one and then will be prepared to finish strong against a tough UM team on Sunday."

The win today marks the first time the Eagles have beaten the Bobcats in Bozeman, Mont., and only the second time they have defeated them in program history.

Official Match Report

Doubles Results
Mary/Van Baelen def. Zoey Nelson/Rylee Braeden (6-2)
Scout Mathews/Louise Waite def. Zander/Jayasaputra (6-3)
Jennifer Kida/Renata Gabuzyan def. Chen/Lerman (6-3)
 
Singles Results
Mary def. Jennifer Kida (6-3, 6-3)
Van Baelen def. Scout Mathews (6-4, 6-4)
Jayasaputra def. Louise Waite (6-7 (3), 6-2, 6-2)
Zoey Nelson def. Zander (6-3, 4-6, 6-1)
Renata Gabuzyan def. Chen (6-4. 6-4)
Yasmin Mansouri def. Lerman (6-0. 6-2)

The Eagles will compete against Montana this Sunday (April 18) at 12:30 Pacific time in Missoula, Mont., for one final regular season match with a Big Sky Conference title on the line.