FRESNO, Calif. (February 10, 2023) – Washington State Tennis received two wins each from Eva Alvarez Sande and Fifa Kumhom as part of a 5-2 win over Fresno State Friday afternoon at the Spalding G. Wathen Tennis Center on the Fresno State campus.
 
With the win, the Cougars improve to 3-3 on the season and defeat the Bulldogs for the third-straight meeting. Fresno State falls to 2-5.
 
Doubles began with the Cougars out quickly. At No. 3, WSU's Fifa Kumhom and Stefaniia Mikhailova dropped the first game but rebounded to take the next 6 in defeating Carlotta Nonnis Marzano and Carolina Piferi to put the Cougars on the board first. At No. 2, the Cougar duo of Eva Alvarez Sande and Elyse Tse raced to a 5-0 lead over Meshkatolzahra Safi and Mariia Vyshkina before holding on for the 6-4 win to clinch the opening doubles point. At No. 1, it was a back-and-forth battle as FSU's Pang Jittakoat and Matilde Magrini escaped with a 7-6 (10-8) win over WSU's Maxine Murphy and Yura Nakagawa.
 
In singles play, Jittakoat evened the match for Fresno State as she defeated Murphy, 7-6, 6-2 at No. 1. Sophomore Hania Abouelsaad gave the Cougars a 2-1 lead as she completed a 6-4, 6-3 win over Vyshkina on Court 6 just before Piferi finished a 7-5, 6-3 win over Tse on Court 5.
 
At No. 2, Alvarez Sande pushed the Cougars back into the lead at 3-2 as she posted a 6-4, 6-4 win over Magrini, inching WSU to within one win of the team victory. The win came at the hands of Nakagawa, who pulled out a 6-4, 7-6 win at No. 3 over Safi, giving WSU a 4-2 lead with one match remaining. In the final match, Kumhom defeated Cristina Flaquer by a score of 7-6, 6-2
 
The Cougars are next in action Saturday when they face Cal Poly in Fresno. Match time is set for Noon.
 
WASHINGTON STATE TENNIS
Washington State 5 def. Fresno State 2
February 10, 2023
Spalding G. Wathen Tennis Center
Fresno, Calif.
 
DOUBLES
No. 1 Pang Jittakoat/Matilde Magrini (FSU) def. Maxine Murphy/Yura Nakagawa (WSU) 7-6 (8)
No. 2 Eva Alvarez Sande/Elyse Tse (WSU) def. Meshkatolzahra Safi/Mariia Vyshkina (FSU) 6-4
No. 3 Fifa Kumhom/Stefaniia Mikhailova (WSU) def. Carlotta Nonnis Marzano/Carolina Piferi (FSU) 6-1
Order of Finish: 3,2,1
 
SINGLES
No. 1 Pang Jittakoat (FSU) def. #111 Maxine Murphy (WSU) 7-6 (4), 6-2
No. 2 Eva Alvarez Sande (WSU) def. Matilde Magrini (FSU) 6-4, 6-4
No. 3 Yura Nakagawa (WSU) def. Meshkatolzahra Safi (FSU) 6-4, 7-6 (3)
No. 3 Fifa Kumhom (WSU) def. Cristina Flaquer (FSU) 7-6 (2), 6-2
No. 5 Carolina Piferi (FSU) def. Elyse Tse (WSU) 7-5, 6-3
No. 6 Hania Abouelsaad (WSU) def. Mariia Vyshkina (FSU) 6-4, 6-3
Order of Finish: 1,6,5,2,3,4