DALY CITY, Calif. -- In Academy of Art tennis' first official match of the season, the Urban Knights saw bits of victory throughout the course of the afternoon showing, but ART U dropped the contest 4-1 against NCAA Division I talent in Portland State on Thursday at the Bay Club South San Francisco.

Although freshman Amelija Supulniece and junior Erica Hellbe battled hard in a tight battle against Nika Beukers and Elizabeth Strongina, the pairing went unfinished with a 5-4 score in PSU's favor as the Vikings captured wins on the other two doubles courts. Supulniece came out hot against Strongina on Court 1 in singles action, holding off her opponent in the opening set before taking the win 7-5, 6-3. Sophomore Jessica Plazas saw a victory in the first set against Beukers on Court 2, and that match also went unfinished with the score settled at 6-3, 4-6. With Hellbe in another close battle over on Court 5, the matchup was halted at 2-6, 7-6 (7-4) after Hellbe had just won the second set tiebreaker. Freshman Estelle Najean, senior Viktoria Leth, and freshman Georgiana Parr all fought hard in singles, but could not overcome PSU's Makoto Ohara, Momoko Yoshimura, and Maddie Egan as the match ended on a clinch format.
 
Following the tough loss, Academy of Art moves to 0-1 overall. The Urban Knights will now head to the Castellucci Family Tennis Center in San Rafael, Calif. on Saturday, Feb. 3 to battle with Dominican starting at 11 a.m.