FRESNO, Calif. - The Point Loma Nazarene women's tennis team came up just short in their match against Fresno Pacific, falling 5-4 to the Sunbirds, Thursday (Mar. 28).

The Sea Lions trailed 2-1 after doubles play, with the lone victory coming from an 8-0 sweep on court No. 3 by Kiersten Steinhaur and Wileen Chiu. Hope Penner and Preethika Venugopal lost 8-0 on court No. 1, and Maika Adair and Sharon Reibstein were edged out 8-5 on court No. 2.

Unfortunately the Sunbirds, the No. 11-ranked team in NCAA Division II, won the first three singles matches, each in straight sets, to pick up the win.

On court No. 1, FPU's Marie Boura took down Adair 6-1, 6-0. Petra Jurova defeated Penner 6-0, 6-1 on court No. 2, and Erika Januskova beat Reibstein 6-1, 6-0 on court No. 3.

PLNU was able to close the gap to 5-4 in the end however, taking the last three singles matches in straight sets. On court No. 6, Chiu defeated Nicole Simoni 6-1, 6-2; Venugopal defeated Erin Carlson 6-1, 6-1 on court No. 5. And Steinhauer sent the Sea Lions off with a hard-fought 7-6, 6-4 win over Anna Mikhavlova on court No. 4.

The narrow loss drops the Sea Lions to 6-1 on the season, and they remain winless all time against the Sunbirds. FPU improved to 15-6 with the win.

On Saturday, the Green and Gold will host Cal State Los Angeles for a nonconference tilt on the PLNU tennis courts. The match is slated for 11:00 a.m.  

Fresno Pacific 5, Point Loma 4
Singles competition
1. #14 Marie Boura (FPU-WT) def. Maika Adair (PLNU-WT) 6-1, 6-0
2. #24 Petra Jurova (FPU-WT) def. Hope Penner (PLNU-WT) 6-0, 6-1
3. Erika Januskova (FPU-WT) def. Sharon Reibstein (PLNU-WT) 6-1, 6-0
4. Kiersten Steinhauer (PLNU-WT) def. Anna Mikhaylova (FPU-WT) 7-6, 6-4
5. Preethika Venugopal (PLNU-WT) def. Erin Carlson (FPU-WT) 6-1, 6-1
6. Wileen Chiu (PLNU-WT) def. Nicole Simoni (FPU-WT) 6-1, 6-2

Doubles competition
1. Marie Boura/Petra Jurova (FPU-WT) def. Hope Penner/Preethika Venugopal (PLNU-WT) 8-0
2. Erika Januskova/Anna Mikhaylova (FPU-WT) def. Maika Adair/Sharon Reibstein (PLNU-WT) 8-5
3. Kiersten Steinhauer/Wileen Chiu (PLNU-WT) def. Nicole Simoni/Erin Carlson (FPU-WT) 8-0