SURPRISE, Ariz. -- Karlee Budge staved off a furious rally by her opponent Hillary Ramage at No. 5 singles to earn a tough three-set win and the clinching fifth point for the Sonoma State women's tennis team, which held on for a wild 5-3 victory over Point Loma and a fifth place finish in the Pacific West Conference Tennis Championships this week in Surprise, Ariz.  The 35th-ranked Seawolves notched their 18th win of the season and ends their 2014 campaign at 18-7.  The Sea Lions wrap up their season at 13-13.

After two doubles wins and two more to open singles play, Sonoma State took a 4-1 lead in the match, needing just one more point to go out on a winning note, but Point Loma was going to do everything they could to make SSU work for it.  The Sea Lions' Hope Penner defeated SSU's Kaitlyn Haithcock in straight sets before PLNU got to within a point at 4-3 when Preethika Venugopal knocked off Sheena Johnson, also in straight sets.

It would come down to Budge at No. 5 singles and Lauren Ha at No. 6.  Both Budge and Ha were forced into a third set and while Ha was trailing 3-2 in the third set, Budge outlasted her opponent for the 6-4 win and the match victory for Sonoma State.

Four Seawolves recorded at least 20 wins in singles play, which includes tournament play in the fall -- Sara Celma finished the year 25-5 to earn the most wins, while Budge (20-8), Ha (20-9) and Leire Martinez (20-3) had 20 wins apiece.  Celma and Ha ended their careers with record-breaking numbers at SSU -- Celma now holds the top spot in career winning percentage in singles play with a mark of .849 (45-8) while Ha finishes atop the most career wins list with 61 (61-30).  Johnson (48-39), Spencer Trotta (13-8) and Geri Richards (6-1) also marked the end of their careers on Saturday, ending with overall records above .500.

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#35 Sonoma State 5, #25 Point Loma 3
Apr 19, 2014 at Surprise, AZ

Singles competition
1. #8 Sara Celma (SSU) def. Adair, Maika (PLNU-WT) 6-3, 6-0
2. Leire Martinez (SSU) def. von Koch, Regina (PLNU-WT) 6-4, 6-1
3. Penner, Hope (PLNU-WT) def. Kaitlyn Haithcock (SSU) 6-2, 6-2
4. Venugopal, Preethika (PLNU-WT) def. Sheena Johnson (SSU) 6-4, 6-2
5. Karlee Budge (SSU) def. Ramage, Hillary (PLNU-WT) 6-3, 1-6, 6-4
6. Mountain, Kirsty (PLNU-WT) def. Lauren Ha (SSU) 6-0, 2-6, 3-2, unfinished

Doubles competition
1. Sara Celma/Kaitlyn Haithcock (SSU) def. Penner, Hope/von Koch, Regina (PLNU-WT) 8-2
2. Adair, Maika/Ramage, Hillary (PLNU-WT) def. Lauren Ha/Leire Martinez (SSU) 8-1
3. Sheena Johnson/Karlee Budge (SSU) def. Venugopal, Preethika/Murray, Kaitlyn (PLNU-WT) 9-7

Match Notes
Sonoma State 17-6; Regional ranking #9
Point Loma 13-13; National ranking #25; Regional ranking #7

Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (1,2,3,4,5)
Pacific West Conference Championship Tournament
Point Loma No. 5 seed
Sonoma State No. 6 seed
Sonoma State wins fifth place in the tournament