THIS WEEK: Washington State takes a 17-4, 2-3 Pac-12 record into the desert as it heads south for matches against Arizona (10-8, 0-5 Pac-12) and Arizona State (12-4, 4-1 Pac-12). The Cougars, ranked No. 62 in the latest ITA poll, face Arizona Friday in Tucson at 1:30 p.m., followed by a noon match on Saturday at No. 26 Arizona State in Tempe.
LAST TIME OUT: The No. 62 Washington State tennis team had little trouble against BYU, posting a 6-1 victory, Friday at Hollingbery Fieldhouse. After WSU won the doubles point, Trang Huynh clinched the match for Washington State with a 7-6 (4), 6-1 effort over BYU's Natella Nabieva. The match was highlighted by Donika Bashota's record breaking 6-2, 6-3 victory over BYU's Mayci Jones, giving her sole possession of the WSU single-season singles wins record.
COUGARS RANKED IN ITA POLL: Boasting a 17-4 record, Washington State checks in at No. 62 in the latest Intercollegiate Tennis Association poll. WSU reached a high of No. 40 earlier this season.
BASHOTA MAKES HISTORY: Sophomore Donika Bashota cemented her place in the Washington State tennis record books with her victory last weekend. With a total of 34 victories, Bashota moves past Elisabeth Fournier (2012) on the single-season singles wins list. She recently surpassed her 31 wins from last season, which was a WSU freshman record. Furthermore, Bashota's 34-6 record, including a 16-4 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 86 victories at Washington State, needing only one 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 ARIZONA: Washington State will square off against Arizona for the 23rd time since 1993. The Cougars are 4-18 all-time against the Wildcats.
ALL-TIME AGAINST ARIZONA STATE: Washington State will face Arizona State for the 23rd time since 1993. The Cougars have defeated the Sun Devils one time in 22 matches.
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 Huynh, 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 171 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.