Cougars women’s tennis dominant in final regular season match
MIKE MAYNARD | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 11 months, 3 weeks AGO
Seniors Hania Abouelsaad and Elyse Tse led the way in the Cougars 5-0 victory over Santa Clara.
COURTESY PHOTO/WSU ATHLETICS
PULLMAN – Washington State’s women’s tennis (16-7) finished their regular season with a strong 5-0 win over Santa Clara, led by seniors Hania Abouelsaad and Elyse Tse, according to a statement by Washington State University Athletics.
With the win, WSU ended its regular season 6-2 in West Coast Conference play. The Cougars closed out their home schedule with a perfect 11-0 record, the best home record in program history, eclipsing the 8-0 mark from 2020 when the season was cut short due to the COVID pandemic. Santa Clara falls to 8-12, 2-4.
The match began outside, and midway through, doubles play was halted due to rain. After a 13-minute delay, play resumed as the rain held off long enough to complete doubles. Another rain shower forced the singles matches to move inside to Hollingbery Fieldhouse.
In doubles play, Santa Clara struck first as the No. 2 doubles team of Danielle Dimitrova and Anna Rahman posted a 6-3 win over Tse and Chisato Kanemaki. The Cougars responded as the No. 3 duo of Abouelsaad and Martina Markov defeated Velizara Fileva and Kacey Feng, 6-4, while WSU's Eva Alvarez Sande and Maxine Murphy, ranked No. 44 nationally, clinched the doubles point with a 6-4 win over Jillian Roa and Tian Yu Dong at No. 1.
In singles action, Abouelsaad set the tone as she raced through a 6-1, 6-0 win over Roa at No. 4 singles, pushing the Cougar lead to 2-0. Alvarez Sande quickly followed suit, completing a 6-0, 6-3 win at No. 2 over Fileva.
Murphy clinched the team win as she had little trouble with Dimitrova at No. 1, winning 6-2, 6-2, giving WSU a 4-0 lead with three matches remaining. Tse then put a bow on her home season with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Dong at No. 3.
With the team outcome decided, two matches were abandoned as Markov led Rahman, 6-0, 1-4 at No. 5 and Martina Puvill was leading Juliette Krumholz at No. 6.
The Cougars begin play at the 2025 West Coast Conference Championships on Thursday, April 24, in San Diego.
DOUBLES
No. 1 #44 Eva Alvarez Sande/Maxine Murphy (WSU) def. Jillian Roa/Tian Yu Dong (SCU) 6-4
No. 2 Daniella Dimitrova/Anna Rahman (SCU) def. Elyse Tse/Chisato Kanemaki (WSU) 6-3
No. 3 Hania Abouelsaad/Martina Markov (WSU) def. Velizara Fileva/Kacey Feng (SCU) 6-4
Order of Finish: 2,3,1
SINGLES
No. 1 Maxine Murphy (WSU) def. Daniella Dimitrova (SCU) 6-2, 6-2
No. 2 Eva Alvarez Sande (WSU) def. Velizara Fileva (SCU) 6-0, 6-3
No. 3 Elyse Tse (WSU) def. Tian Yu Dong (SCU) 6-2, 6-4
No. 4 Hania Abouelsaad (WSU) def. Jillian Roa (SCU) 6-1, 6-0
No. 5 Martina Markov (WSU) vs. Anna Rahman (SCU) 6-1, 1-4 DNF
No. 6 Martina Puvill (WSU) vs. Juliette Krumholz (SCU) 6-4, 1-1 DNF
Order of Finish: 4,2,1,3
ARTICLES BY MIKE MAYNARD
Cougs’ extend win streak after win over Portland
PULLMAN — The Washington State Cougars (19-17) extended its win streak to five after defeating the University of Portland Pilots 9-3 Monday, according to a statement by WSU Athletics. Pitcher Brock Blatter was happy with his performance after coming back from a recent injury. “It felt good (to) give us a good start and stuff and get us in good position and get a win on a Monday,” Blatter said. “(I just) keep getting innings and building up my pitch count and stuff like that and continue to build each outing. (I) got four innings today and continued to build the pitch count.”
Basin diamond roundup, April 7-13
MOSES LAKE — Over the last week, we have crossed the halfway mark of the spring sports season for Basin baseball and softball. While many schools were enjoying a relaxing spring break, many others still stepped out on the diamond as they work toward the postseason. See below how your favorite teams fared and their current record.
More than basketball
Grant County Red Tails emphasize mentorship while earning dramatic home victory
MATTAWA — The Grant County Red Tails (6-5) are the Basin’s newest professional basketball team. Part of The Basketball League, the Red Tails aren’t only focused on hoops, they’re also driven by community service. “We came together because we saw the need, number one, that we could revitalize the mentorship and the leadership things that are missing in this community, with touch points, with kids and families and family engagement, being in such a rural area, and we wanted to really take advantage of that and be the answer,” Co-Founder Antonio Williams said. Alongside Doug Foodies and Ryan Purdie, the trio has brought another option for entertainment to Mattawa and Grant County as a whole. Williams pointed to a new jail being built in the area as motivation for pursuing this endeavor, he said.