THIS WEEK: The Washington State women's tennis team returns to the Midwest to take part in the four-team Courtside Classic, hosted by the University of Minnesota with all matches played at the Baseline Tennis Club in Minneapolis. Additionally, DePaul and Dartmouth are the remaining two teams to fill out the tournament. The Cougars will open against DePaul at 8 a.m. PT Saturday, Feb. 4, while Minnesota and Dartmouth will face off at 11 a.m. PT. The following day winners from Saturday's matches will meet at 10 a.m. PT and the other two teams will play at 7 a.m. PT. The Cougars enter the weekend with a 5-1 record, while DePaul is 0-2, Minnesota 2-1 and Dartmouth 3-0.
DePAUL/MINNESOTA/DARTMOUTH SERIES HISTORY: This weekend will mark the first meeting against DePaul and possibly Dartmouth. The Cougars hold a 1-0 advantage against Minnesota, winning 4-3 during the 2014 season.
UP NEXT: The Cougars are off next weekend before returning to the courts Saturday, Feb. 18 against Kansas State in Denton, Texas. They will face North Texas the following day, concluding a six-match stretch away from Hollingbery Fieldhouse.
LAST WEEK: The Cougars split their two matches in Indiana, falling 6-1 at Purdue before rebounding with a 4-0 victory at Indiana. In the Purdue match Barbora Michalkova picked up the lone victory while Guzal Yusupova, Melisa Ates and Ege Tomey all earned singles victories against Indiana.
MIKSOVSKA LOOKING TO BUILD ON FRESHMAN CAMPAIGN: Sophomore Aneta Miksovska is looking to pick up right where she left off last dual season. The native of Stramberk, Czech Republic, completed her freshman year with a 31-11 singles record, tying the freshman single-season record for wins and tying for the fifth-most wins in a season at WSU. She posted a team-best 19-4 dual-match record and led WSU in Pac-12 conference wins. Miksovska has an 11-4 record this season.
FRESHMEN TO PLAY BIG ROLE: It's still early but WSU's freshman class will not have long to adjust to the college game. With four of WSU's seven players being freshmen, the young class will play a key role in WSU's success this season. So far the group is on the right track, posting a combined 42-19 singles record, led by Melisa Ates' 16-3 mark.
FALL SEASON RECAP: The 2016 fall season began with the annual Cougar Classic tournament. Newcomer Ates and returner Miksovska garnered first place singles titles, while the sophomore duo of Michalkova and Miksovska took home the doubles crown. At the 2016 UNLV Invitational, WSU earned consolation single crowns and the pair of Michalkova and Miksovska placed seventh in the second doubles flight. At the ITA Northwest Region Championships, freshman sophomore Aneta Miksovska reached the third round while freshman Guzal Yusupova feel to the No. 7 overall seed in two close sets in the second round. Following are fall records for the Cougars: Melisa Ates (8-2), Lejla Colic (3-4), Victoria Matejevic (5-6), Barbora Michalkova (7-4), Aneta Miksovska (8-3), Ege Tomey (5-5) and Guzal Yusupova (3-1).
ROSTER BREAKDOWN: For the 2017 season the Cougars will boast a lineup that features four freshmen, one senior, one junior and a sophomore. The returning roster includes senior Victoria Matejevic, junior Barbora Michalkova, sophomore Aneta Miksovska, and freshmen Melisa Ates, Lejla Colic, Ege Tomey and Guzal Yusupova.
LAST SEASON IN REVIEW: Washington State finished off dual match play with a 17-9 overall record in 2016. The Cougars finished ninth in a competitive Pac-12 conference that had the top ten teams finishing with national rankings. WSU started the season nationally ranked at No.57 and reached a high of No.40 during the season. Departed from last year's squad is Maria Biryukova (30-15 singles record), Trang Huynh (30-15), Lize Leenknecht (19-12), Donika Bashota (36-8) and Holly Monahan (6-7).
COACH HART: Lisa Hart is in her 14th season as the head coach of Washington State. Hart has accumulated 176 wins over her tenure, the most of any coach in WSU tennis history. In 2012, the Cougars went 19-7 as Hart was awarded the Pac-12 Conference Women's Tennis Coach of the Year award.