SEATTLE, Wash. – Donika Bashota picked up her 10th dual match win of the season as she clinched the team victory with a straight-set win to lead Washington State to a 5-2 victory over Portland in a nonconference tennis match Thursday at the Nordstrom Tennis Center.

With the win the Cougars improve to 10-2 on the season while Portland falls to 5-3.

The Cougars opened the day by taking the doubles point. Bashota and Nastia Vasyukhina were first to finish, defeating Emily Gould and Amanda Zuidema, 6-3, at No. 3. Maja Mladenovic and Sophie van den Aarssen evened the score with a 6-2 win over Maria Biryukova and Victoria Matejevic at No. 2. The doubles point came down to No. 1 where the Cougar duo of Elizaveta Luzina and Lize Leenknecht defeated Lucia Butkovska and Jelena Lazarevic, 6-3.

In singles play, WSU increased its lead to 3-0 with wins by Matejevic and Vasyukhina. At No. 5, Vasyukhina cruised to a 6-3, 6-2 win over Saroop Dhatt while Vasyukhina followed close behind with a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Tori Troesch at No. 6.

Portland found the scoreboard at No. 1 when Butkovska recorded a 6-2, 6-4 win over Luzina, cutting the Cougar advantage to 3-1. Bashota clinched the match for WSU as she closed out the first set in a tiebreaker before pulling away for the 7-6, 6-2 victory.

The final two matches were split as Biryukova rallied for a 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 win over Mladenovic at No. 2 while van den Aarssen won a pair of close sets to defeat Leenknecht at No. 4, 6-4, 7-5.

The Cougars are next in action Friday when they open Pac-12 Conference play at No. 40 Washington. Match time is set for 1:30 p.m.

WASHINGTON STATE TENNIS

Washington State 5 def. Portland 2

Seattle, Wash.

March 5, 2015

DOUBLES

No. 1 Elizaveta Luzina/Lize Leenknecht (WSU) def. Lucia Butkovska/Jelena Lazarevic (UP) 6-3

No. 2 Maja Mladenovic/Sophie van den Aarssen (UP) def. Maria Biryukova/Victoria Matejevic (WSU) 6-2

No. 3 Donika Bashota/Nastia Vasyukhina (WSU) def. Emily Gould/Amanda Zuidema (UP) 6-3

Order of Finish: 3,2,1

SINGLES

No. 1 Lucia Butkovska (UP) def. Elizaveta Luzina (WSU) 6-2, 6-4

No. 2 Maria Biryukova (WSU) def. Maja Mladenovic (UP) 6-4, 3-6, 6-4

No. 3 Donika Bashota (WSU) def. Jelena Lazarevic (UP) 7-6 (7-5), 6-2

No. 4 Sophie van den Aarssen (UP) def. Lize Leenknecht (WSU) 6-4, 7-5

No. 5 Victoria Matejevic (WSU) def. Saroop Dhatt (UP) 6-3, 6-2

No. 6 Nastia Vasyukhina (WSU) def. Tori Troesch (UP) 6-2, 6-1

Order of Finish: 5,6,1,3,2,4