THIS WEEK: The Washington State tennis team (12-0) looks to hold on to its perfect season as the No. 40-ranked Cougars travel to Fresno, Calif. Washington State begins play Friday, Feb. 26, against No. 26 Fresno State (5-4) at noon. The Cougars are then slated to face Saint Mary's (2-5) Saturday, Feb. 27, at 11 a.m.
LAST TIME OUT: The Washington State tennis teams improved to 12-0 on the season as the Cougars continued to dominate their home court. The Cougars defeated the Utah State Aggies and Lewis-Clark State Warriors at Hollingbery Fieldhouse. Washington State opened play Sunday morning with a 6-0 sweep over Utah State. Later that afternoon WSU posted another sweep, as the Cougars went on to a 7-0 win over Lewis-Clark State.
COUGARS RANKED IN ITA POLL: After the historic 12-0 start, Washington State moves up 26 spots to 40th in the latest Intercollegiate Tennis Association poll. The last time WSU was ranked in the top-40 was during the 2012-13 season when the Cougars started the season ranked 32nd. WSU reached a high of No. 52 last season.
BASHOTA MAKES HISTORY: Sophomore Donika Bashota's 29-2 record, including a 12-0 mark in dual matches, passes Liudmila Vasilieva (2011-12) for the second-best start in school history. The Lidkoping, Sweden, native opened the fall season with a 15-1 record. Bashota's 29 victories also moved her into sixth on the WSU season singles wins list. She sits tied with former teammate Elizaveta Luzina (2011-14) with the 29 wins. With two more victories, Bashota would equal the amount of wins she accrued last season and move into the top-three all-time with 31 victories.
RECORD WATCH: Senior Maria Biryukova's two wins last weekend moved her into sole possession of eighth place on the WSU all-time wins list. She passes Andrea Reisz (1996-99), who won 79 matches as a Cougar. The Moscow, Russia, native has accrued 80 victories at Washington State, needing only seven more to move into a tie with Andjela Kankaras (2009-13) and Erica Perkins (1998-02) for sixth on the all-time wins list.
MIKSOVSKA OFF TO FAST START: Freshman Aneta Miksovska is 21-3 to start the year, including an 11-0 record in dual matches. The Stramberk, Czech Republic, native's start marks the second-best start for a freshman in WSU history. With the two wins last weekend, Miksovska passes Elizaveta Luzina's (2011-14) 20-3 freshman record. Erin Majury (1982-84) sits first on the list with a 27-0 record. Teammate Donika Bashota sits fifth on the list, starting 24-7 last season and went on to win 31 matches, a WSU record for freshman singles victories.
ALL-TIME AGAINST FRESNO STATE: Washington State will square off against No. 26 Fresno State for the 15th time since 1992. The Cougars are 2-12 all-time against the Bulldogs. Coach Hart holds a 1-1 record against Fresno State during her tenure as Washington State's head coach.
ALL-TIME AGAINST SAINT MARY'S: Washington State will square off against Saint Mary's for only the second time since 1996. In the first meeting, the Cougars defeated the Gaels 9-0.
COUGARS GARNER ITA RANKINGS: Sophomore Donika Bashota earned a No. 119 national ranking in the latest ITA poll. In the first regional rankings of the year, Bashota was named the No. 6 Northwest Regional player after finishing the 2015 fall season with a 15-1 record. Senior Trang Huynh garnered a No. 15 regional ranking following her first fall season of competition posting an 11-6 record.
ROSTER BREAKDOWN: For the 2015-16 season the Cougars will have three new faces to go with five returners. The returning roster includes seniors Maria Biryukova and Lize Leenknecht, junior Victoria Matejevic, and sophomores Holly Monahan and Donika Bashota. New to the squad this season are senior Trang Huyhn, who arrives in Pullman after transferring from Troy, and freshmen Barbora Michalkova and Aneta Miksovska.
COACH HART: Lisa Hart is in her 13th season as the head coach of Washington State. Hart has accumulated 166 wins over her tenure, registering a 13-12 record last season. In 2012, the Cougars went 19-7 as Hart was awarded the Pac-12 Conference Women's Tennis Coach of the Year award.
LAST SEASON IN REVIEW: Washington State finished off dual match play with a 13-12 overall record in 2015. The Cougars finished 11th in a competitive Pac-12 conference that had the top nine teams finishing with national rankings. WSU started the spring season national ranked at No. 52 and remained in the ranking through February. Departed from last year's squad is Elizaveta Luzina (26-22 singles record), number three all-time on WSU career singles victories list, and Nastia Vasyukhina (18-24).