PULLMAN, Wash. – The Washington State tennis team came out with the 6-1 victory over North Texas, Sunday afternoon at the Simmelink Tennis Courts at Hollingbery Fieldhouse.

The day began with doubles play where the Cougars found themselves in trouble dropping the doubles point. The No. 1 pair of Bashota and Leenknecht fell to Maria Kononova and Tamuna Kutubidze, 6-1, while North Texas' Agustina Valenzuela and Nastya Shestakova outdueled No. 3 Miksovska and Michalkova, 6-3. The No. 2 duo, Biryukova and Huynh, trailed Minying Liang and Alexis Thoma, 6-5, when the match was stopped.

In singles play, No. 1 Biryukova led the way for the Cougars and never lost a beat. Biryukova posted a convincing 6-3, 6-2 victory over Kononova. The win moves Biryukova into WSU's top-10 singles victories list. Biryukova has accumulated 76 wins putting her at ninth on the list, tied with Marsha Senn (1993-96) and Amy Toth (2003-07).

The Cougars surged on as No. 4 Huynh dominated Liang, 6-3, 6-2, giving the Cougars a 2-1 lead. No. 2 Bashota climbed out of a three games down hole in the first set against Shestakova. She went on to win the next six games in the first set, propelling her to the 6-3, 6-1 victory, which made it 3-1 in favor of WSU.

No. 3 Michalkova struggled early against Kutubidze, losing the first four games, but battled back from there. She found her form after the slow start rallying back and winning the next 6 games, taking the first set 6-4. The freshman found herself in familiar territory in the second set, falling in the first three games. Once again she would not be denied an impressive comeback, winning the next 6 games to post the 6-4, 6-3 victory. The win gave WSU the 4-1 lead and their sixth win on the season. 

At No. 5, Victoria Matejevic bested Valenzuela with a hard fought 7-5, 6-4 victory, while No. 5 Miksovska posted a 6-2, 6-3 win over Thoma, to finish out the match.

Following the match, the Cougars held their 11th annual tennis clinic in honor of National Girls and Women in Sports Day. The team and coaching staff spent the afternoon with the community, as females of all ages and skill levels participated in the fun event.

Washington State tennis returns to the court at 10:00 a.m. Saturday to face Seattle, and again at 6 p.m., taking on Northern Arizona.

WASHINGTON STATE TENNIS
Washington State 6 def. North Texas 1
Simmelink Tennis Courts at Hollingbery Fieldhouse
Pullman, Wash.
January 31, 2016
 
DOUBLES
No. 1 Konova/Kutubidze(UNT) def. Bashota/Leenknecht (WSU) 6-1
No. 2 Liang/Thoma (UNT) vs. Biryukova/Huynh (WSU) 6-5, DNF
No. 3 Valenzuela/Shestakova(UNT) def. Miksovska/Michalkova (WSU) 6-3
Order of Finish: 1,3

SINGLES
No. 1 Maria Biryukova (WSU) def. Maria Kononova (UNT) 6-3, 6-2
No. 2 #83 Donika Bashota (WSU) def. Nastya Shestakova (UNT) 6-3, 6-1
No. 3 Barbora Michalkova (WSU) def. Tamuna Kutubidze (UNT) 6-4, 6-3
No. 4 Trang Huynh (WSU) def. Liang Minying (UNT) 6-3, 6-2
No. 5 Aneta Miksovska (WSU) def. Lexis Thoma (UNT) 6-2, 6-3
No. 6 Victoria Matejevic (WSU) def. Agustina Valenzuela (UNT) 7-5, 6-4
Order of Finish: 1,4,2,3,6,5