MISSOULA, Mont. – After a slow start, the Washington State tennis team came out strong in singles play to secure a 4-1 victory over Michigan State at the Peak Tennis Club Sunday morning. With the win the Cougars improve to 5-0 on the season.

"I'm proud of the way our team fought back after losing the doubles point," said Head Coach Lisa Hart. "Our veteran players did a fantastic job showing maturity and poise in their singles matches. Today was a great test for us and we are excited to get back to work in practice and keep improving."
 
For the first time this season, the Cougars dropped the opening doubles point. Having split the top two matches, the doubles point came down to No. 3. WSU held leads of 5-4 and 6-5, but could not close out the match as Michigan State won 7-2 in a tiebreaker to clinch the point.
 
In singles play, WSU captured the first four matches to clinch the team win. Senior Tiffany Mylonas improved to 15-0 in singles play this season as she was the first off the court with a 6-1, 6-4 win over Emily Metcalf at No. 3. Freshman Savanna Ly-Nguyen at No. 4 extended her season-opening winning streak to eight matches with a 7-5, 6-2 win over Maja Peitrowicz. Ly-Nguyen fell behind 3-0 to open the match before winning 13 of the final 17 games.
 
Sophomore Michaela Bayerlova increased WSU's lead to 3-1 with a straight-set, 6-4, 7-6 (5) win over Spartan Lauren Lemonds at No. 1 singles. Senior Aneta Miksovska clinched the victory with a 7-5, 6-4 win at No. 5, giving the Cougars their second victory in as many meetings against Michigan State.
 
WSU is next in action Saturday, Jan. 26 when it faces SMU in the first round of the ITA Kickoff Weekend at Stanford, Calif.
 
WASHINGTON STATE TENNIS
Washington State 4 def. Michigan State 1
January 20, 2019
Peak Tennis Club
Missoula, Mont.
 
SINGLES

1. No. 83 Michaela Bayerlova (WSU) def. Lauren Lemonds (MSU) 6-4, 7-6 (5)
2. Hikaru Sato (WSU) vs. Samantha Memije (MSU) 6-7 (3), 3-5 DNF
3. Tiffany Mylonas (WSU) def. Emily Metcalf (MSU) 6-1, 6-4
4. Savanna Ly-Nguyen (WSU) def. Maja Pietrowicz (MSU) 7-5, 6-2
5. Aneta Miksovska (WSU) def. Davina Nguyen (MSU) 7-5, 6-4
6. Melisa Ates (WSU) vs. Nicole Stephens (MSU) 3-4 DNF

Order of Finish:  3,4,1,5
 
DOUBLES

1. Emily Metcalf/Maja Pietrowicz (MSU) def. Hikaru Sato/Tiffany Mylonas (WSU) 6-4
2. Melisa Ates/Yang Lee (WSU) def. Lauren Lemonds/Caroline Szabo (MSU) 6-0
3. Samantha Memije/Davina Nguyen (MSU) def. Michaela Bayerlova/Aneta Miksovska (WSU) 7-6 (2)

Order of Finish: 2,1,3