Cougars Hold off Minnesota, 4-3

Friday, February 23

Pullman, WA

12:00 PM

Washington State University

Minnesota

February 23, 2018 | Tennis

Highlights Photo Gallery vs. Minnesota

By: Washington State Athletic Communications

PULLMAN, Wash. – Sophomore Melisa Ates' straight-set win at No. 6 capped Washington State's 4-3 victory over Minnesota Friday afternoon at the Simmelink Tennis Courts at Hollingbery Fieldhouse. With the win, the Cougars improve to 8-1 on the season while Minnesota falls to 7-4. The Cougars captured the opening doubles point against the Minnesota Gophers, Friday afternoon. Guzal Yusupova and Tiffany Mylonas were the first of the day to win at No. 2 doubles, followed by Barbora Michalkova and Melisa Ates at No. 3. No. 1 doubles was left unfinished as the Cougars quickly took the first lead of the match. In singles play WSU captured wins at No. 1, 4 and 6 to secure the victory. Freshman Michaela Bayerlova won at No. 1 for her 14th-straight victory while at No. 4 Aneta Miksovska rallied from a set down to win 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, setting the stage for Ates' match-clinching win.

Coach Hart Comments on the Match:
"I am very proud of the way our team performed today. We knew coming in that Minnesota would be a strong challenge and they showed that today. We were able to play very good doubles and then then battle back in a few matches to seal a great team win. Now we turn our focus to two regional opponents tomorrow, which is a challenge to play twice in a day, but we will be up to the task. Go Cougs!"

Moments of the Match:

#GoCougs pic.twitter.com/durQTZKWOz
— WSU COUGAR TENNIS (@WSUCOUGARTENNIS) February 24, 2018

Aneta caps huge comeback with three-set win at No. 4. #GoCougs pic.twitter.com/ZGzi0vtKoD
— WSU COUGAR TENNIS (@WSUCOUGARTENNIS) February 23, 2018

Melisa clinches 4-3 victory over Minnesota with straight-set win. #GoCougs pic.twitter.com/SyUrm9QVxs
— WSU COUGAR TENNIS (@WSUCOUGARTENNIS) February 23, 2018

Michaela caps strong comeback to push WSU lead to 2-0. pic.twitter.com/aPHxKXM8GL
— WSU COUGAR TENNIS (@WSUCOUGARTENNIS) February 23, 2018

Things to Know:

WSU has now captured the doubles point in eight of its nine matches this season
Michaela Bayerlova extended her winning streak to 14 matches and is not 14-0 this season. The 14-match streak is tied for the fourth longest in school history
Aneta Miksovska is now 8-1 in three-set matches
Sophomore Melisa Ates improved to 15-5 on the season following the win, 6-1 in dual matches
The Cougars improve to 2-0 all-time against Minnesota and 3-0 this season against Big Ten opponents, having also defeated Iowa and Purdue
Washington State hosts Seattle U and Eastern Washington Saturday, Feb. 24. The Seattle match begins at 11 a.m. and EWU follows at 4 p.m. Both matches will be played at Hollingbery Fieldhouse.

WASHINGTON STATE TENNIS
Washington State 4 def. Minnesota 3
February 23, 2018
Simmelink Tennis Courts at Hollingbery Fieldhouse
Pullman, Wash.

DOUBLES

Barbora Michalkova/Melisa Ates (WSU) vs. Mehvish Safdar/Caitlyn Merzbacher (UM) 3-3 DNF
Guzal Yusupova/Tiffany Mylonas (WSU) def. Tina Kreinis/Caroline Ryba (UM) 6-0
Michaela Bayerlova/Aneta Miksovska (WSU) def. Annemarie Emme/Camila Vargas Gomez (UM) 6-0