PULLMAN, Wash. – Riding straight-set victories at the top four singles positions, the 39th-ranked Washington State Cougars swept past No. 45 Utah 5-0 Sunday morning at the Simmelink Tennis Courts at Hollingbery Fieldhouse.
 
With the win, the Cougars improve to 11-3 on the season, 2-0 in conference play for just the second time since the Pac-12 went to a full conference schedule at the start of the 1999 season. Utah falls to 11-5, 0-2.
 
Doubles play opened the day and the Cougars wasted no time jumping to an early 1-0 lead. At No. 2, Melisa Ates and Yang Lee cruised past Madeline Lamoreaux and Emily Dush, 6-1, while Pang Jittakoat and Jovana Knezevic clinched the opening point with a 6-2 victory over Katya Hersh and Jasmine Rich at No. 3. The No. 1 match was stopped with WSU's Michaela Bayerlova and Hikaru Sato tied 4-4 with Madison Tattini and Whitney Hekking, the nation's 12th-ranked doubles team.
 
In singles action, Sato extended WSU's lead as she defeated Madeline Lamoreaux, 6-2, 6-4 at No. 2. Within a five-minute span, the WSU lead went from 2-0 to 5-0 as Ates needed a second-set tiebreaker at No. 4 to defeat Hekking, 6-2, 7-6 (3), just before Savanna Ly-Nguyen clinched the team victory as she posted a 6-4, 6-4 win at No. 3 over Dush. Almost simultaneously, Bayerlova, ranked No. 46 nationally, completed her straight-set win with a 6-2, 7-6 (5) victory over Tattini. The win was Bayerlova's 13th-straight to open the season, the fifth-longest such streak in program history. She owns the second-longest as well with 20-straight to begin the 2017-18 campaign.
 
With the match clinched, Jittakoat's match against Lindsay Hung at No. 5 was stopped at 1-1 while Lee and Anya Lamoreaux's No. 6 singles match was not started.
 
WSU is next in action Sunday when it travels to Houston to face Rice at 9 a.m. PT.
 
WASHINGTON STATE TENNIS
#39 Washington State 5, #45 Utah 0
March 8, 2020
Simmelink Tennis Courts at Hollingbery Fieldhouse
Pullman, Wash.
 
DOUBLES

1. Michaela Bayerlova/Hikaru Sato (WSU) vs. #12 Madison Tattini/Whitney Hekking (Utah) 4-4 DNF
2. Melisa Ates/Yang Lee (WSU) def. Madeline Lamoreaux/Emily Dush (Utah) 6-1
3. Pang Jittakoat/Jovana Knezevic (WSU) def. Katya Hersh/Jasmine Rich (Utah) 6-2

Order of Finish: 2,3
 
SINGLES

1. #46 Michaela Bayerlova (WSU) def. Madison Tattini (Utah) 6-2, 7-6 (5)
2. Hikaru Sato (WSU) def. Madeline Lamoreaux Utah) 6-2, 6-4
3. Savanna Ly-Nguyen (WSU) def. Emily Dush (Utah) 6-4, 6-4
4. Melisa Ates (WSU) def. Whitney Hekking (Utah) 6-2, 7-6 (3)
5. Pang Jittakoat (WSU) vs. Lindsay Hung (Utah) 1-1 DNF
6. Yang Lee (WSU) vs. Anya Lamoreaux (Utah) DNS

Order of Finish: 2,4,3,1