SAN DIEGO- The Point Loma Sea Lions (16-6 overall) rode an emotional high to a massive 5-2 victory over the 14^th ranked Biola Eagles (19-3 overall) Saturday afternoon on the PLNU Tennis Courts.
 
The Sea Lions are just the third team to beat the Eagles this season and avenged a 6-1 loss to Biola earlier this year.
 
After the Senior Day festivities honoring PLNU's lone senior, Samantha Neilson, Biola stole the early momentum in doubles, taking a 6-4 win on Court No. 3.
 
Amanda Letzring and Arianna Audelo executed a strong performance on Court No. 1 to finish 6-3 and put the Sea Lions back in the doubles race.
 
Neilson and Angelique Friedrich dominated Biola's Alexandria Mann and Brooke Fager on Court No. 2. Fittingly, the senior Neilson sealed the doubles point for the Sea Lions with an overhand slam as the duo took the match 6-3 to give PLNU the one point head start over BU as they entered into singles play.
 
Neilson concluded her time on the PLNU Tennis Court with a nine-match winning streak in doubles play. The combo of Neilson and Friedrich improved their streak to 8 consecutive matches.
 
"Sami got us a huge win which clinched the doubles point for us," said Point Loma head coach Curt Wheeler. "Her experience leading the girls through these tough matches and scenarios was big today and helped give the rest of the team confidence in their matches."
 
In singles, Amanda Letzring's quick reactions on defense earned her a victory over Lilly McNeill 6-1, 6-2 doubling Point Loma's lead to 2-0.
 
It was an extremely tight race on every other court. Faith Pearson's consistent play controlled Court No. 6 through long rallies. While choosing the perfect moments to be aggressive, Pearson came out on top of a second set tiebreak 8-6, sealing the match in straight sets.
 
Despite PLNU sitting at a 3-0 lead, BU was not ready to give up just yet. Biola's Colbeyshae Emery added the Eagle's first point of the day on Court No. 1.
 
However, Thelma Sepluveda clinched the tight matchup on Court No. 2 after an emotional three-set battle.
 
Sepulveda's patience paid off as she returned ball after ball in bounds, weathering long rallies to clinch Point Loma's win.
 
Friedrich commanded Court No.3 in the first set 6-3 before her opponent clawed back in the
2^nd set 6-4. Friedrich navigated a tough final set and grinded to a 6-6 tiebreaker in set number three. Friedrich gritted out a 7-4 win in the tiebreak and added the final point of the day for the Sea Lions.
 
"I'm really proud of how the girls competed today." Reflected Head Coach Curt Wheeler. "When we play a team as good and as talented as Biola, it takes a contribution from the entire team.
The entire team contributed today and that was really cool to see."

Today's victory marked the final home match for the PLNU Women's Tennis team as they tallied their 16th win this season.
 
Point Loma will be on the road the rest of the way including two more regular-season matchups beginning Tuesday with a trip to Irvine to face Concordia University-Irvine. Statistics and game recaps along with the latest PLNU Athletics news can be found on plnusealions.com.