OJAI, Calif. – Washington State captured the opening doubles point then cruised through singles play en route to a 4-0 victory over Colorado in the first round of the 2019 Pac-12 Tennis Championships Wednesday morning at the Weil Tennis Courts.
With the win, the Cougars, the tournament's No. 9 seed, improve to 19-9 on the season and advance to the quarterfinals where they face No. 1 seed Stanford. Colorado, seeded No. 8, has its season end at 10-14.
"I was impressed with our energy from the start today," said WSU Head Coach
Lisa Hart. "We came out strong in doubles and carried that over into singles. Our seniors led the way today and now we will turn our focus to Stanford."
The day began with doubles and the Cougars captured the first two matches to seal the opening point. At No. 1, WSU's
Tiffany Mylonas and
Hikaru Sato, ranked No. 41, had little trouble with Monica Malinen and Annabelle Andrinopoulos, 6-1. The Colorado pair is currently ranked 31st, the fourth-straight ranked opponent the Cougar pair has defeated. At No. 3, WSU's
Michaela Bayerlova and
Aneta Miksovska pulled away late for a 6-3 win over Ky Ecton and Tallulah Farrow at No. 3 to clinch the point. At No. 2, WSU's
Yang Lee and
Melisa Ates were battling back from 5-2 down to trail 5-4 when their match was stopped against Sara Nayar and Megan Forster.
In singles play, The Cougars captured the opening set in all six matches before sealing the win. At No. 3, Mylonas captured a close first set, 6-4, before pulling away in the second to win 6-4, 6-1, pushing the lead to 2-0. At No. 6, Ates cruised to a 6-2,6-2 win over Farrow to put WSU within one win over victory. There were two matches one point away from victory to clinch the team win. Sato at No. 2 and Miksovska at No. 5 were both one point away, and it was Miksovska who closed out first, defeating Farrow 6-1, 6-3 to season the win. It was the senior's 97th career singles win, fourth-most all-time at WSU.
The remaining three matches were stopped with WSU leading in each. Sato was up 6-4, 5-1 over Malinen while Bayerlova, ranked 39th nationally, was up 6-2, 4-4 over No. 89 Nayar. At No. 4,
Savanna Ly-Nguyen was ahead 7-5, 4-1 at No. 4 over Forster.
WSU will face the tournament's top-seed, Stanford, Thursday at Noon at the Weil Tennis Courts.
MOMENTS OF THE MATCH
THINGS TO KNOW
- WSU improved to 2-2 in the three-year history of the Pac-12 Team Championship
- WSU avenged a 4-3 loss earlier this season to Colorado in Boulder
- Tiffany Mylonas improved her team-leading singles record to 26-7 while Aneta Miksovska won her 23rd singles match of the season
- Junior Melisa Ates won her 21st singles match of the year
- In their last eight matches, the doubles team of Tiffany Mylonas and Hikaru Sato are a combined 4-1 with three matches not finished. All eight of those opponents have been ranked among the Top 50 nationally.
WASHINGTON STATE TENNIS
No. 9 Washington State 4 def. No. 8 Colorado 0
2019 Pac-12 Tennis Championship
Weil Tennis Courts
Ojai, Calif.
DOUBLES
- #41 Tiffany Mylonas/Hikaru Sato (WSU) def. #31 Monica Malinen/Annabelle Andrinopoulos (COLO) 6-1
- Yang Lee/Melisa Ates (WSU) vs. Sara Nayar/Megan Forster (COLO) 4-5 DNF
- Michaela Bayerlova/Aneta Miksovska (WSU) def. Ky Ecton/Tallulah Farrow (COLO) 6-3
Order of Finish: 1,3
SINGLES
- #39 Michaela Bayerlova (WSU) vs. #89 Sara Nayar (COLO) 6-2, 4-4 DNF
- Hikaru Sato (WSU) vs. Monica Malinen (COLO) 6-4, 5-1 DNF
- Tiffany Mylonas (WSU) def. Annabelle Andrinopoulos (COLO 6-4, 6-1
- Savanna Ly-Nguyen (WSU) vs. Megan Forster (COLO) 7-5, 4-1 DNF
- Aneta Miksovska (WSU) def. Tallulah Farrow (COLO) 6-1, 6-3
- Melisa Ates (WSU) def. Ky Ecton (COLO) 6-2, 6-2
Order of Finish: 3,6,5
