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THIS WEEK: The No. 58-ranked Washington State tennis team (14-4) resumes Pac-12 Conference play Friday, Mar. 18, when it hosts No. 51 Utah (10-4, 1-1 Pac-12) at 1:30 p.m. at either Hollingbery Fieldhouse or the WSU Outdoor Tennis Courts, depending upon weather. The Cougars will then face Colorado (6-7, 1-1) Sunday, Mar. 20, at 11 a.m. Colorado faces Washington Friday before heading to Pullman.
LAST TIME OUT: The Washington State tennis team posted a 5-2 victory over Portland Sunday in Portland. WSU captured the opening doubles point then won four of six singles matches to clinch the victory. The win pushed WSU's record against Portland to 13-0 all-time, 7-0 during Lisa Hart's tenure. The Cougars opened the road trip Friday at No. 36 Oregon, dropping a 5-2 decision. After Oregon won the doubles point, WSU won the first set in three matches split sets in another, but managed just two wins against the Ducks, who moved up to No. 30 in the most recent poll.
COUGARS RANKED IN ITA POLL: Boasting a 14-4 record, Washington State checks in at 58th in the latest Intercollegiate Tennis Association poll. WSU reached a high of No. 40 earlier this season.
BASHOTA MAKES HISTORY: Sophomore Donika Bashota sits tied for second on the WSU season singles wins list with 32 wins. She surpasses her 31 wins from last season, which was a WSU freshman record, and sits tied with Liudmila Vasilieva (2012) on the list. With two more victories, Bashota would move into sole possession of number one on the all-time season victories list. Furthermore, Bashota's 32-5 record, including a 15-3 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.
RECORD WATCH: Senior Maria Biryukova sits in sole possession of eighth place on the WSU all-time wins list. She recently passed Andrea Reisz (1996-99), who won 79 matches as a Cougar. The Moscow, Russia, native has accrued 83 victories at Washington State, needing only four more to move into a tie with Andjela Kankaras (2009-13) and Erica Perkins (1998-02) for sixth on the all-time wins list.
ALL-TIME AGAINST UTAH: Washington State will square off against No. 51 Utah for the 13th time in school history, with each team winning six matches.
ALL-TIME AGAINST COLORADO: Washington State will square off against Colorado for the seventh time since 1983. The two teams have split the first six matches, all coming since Coach Hart has coached the Cougars.
COUGARS IN THE REGIONAL RANKINGS: In the first regional rankings of the year, Donika 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, along with 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 168 wins over her tenure. In 2012, the Cougars went 19-7 as Hart was awarded the Pac-12 Conference Women's Tennis Coach of the Year award.