LINCOLN, Neb. – Sophomore Maxine Murphy came from a set down to secure the victory at No. 1 singles, propelling Washington State to a 4-3 win over Minnesota Saturday morning at the Dillon Tennis Center. With the win, the Cougars improve to 5-4 on the season while Minnesota falls to 4-3.
 
With the match tied at 3-3, Murphy was deep into her third set against Anet Koskel. Koskel has won the opening set, 6-4, before Murphy rode an early break of serve to win the second, 6-4. In the third, Murphy again captured an early break and made it stick, but not without drama. Murphy converted on her seventh match point to secure the 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 win for the final margin of victory.
 
Doubles play opened the day with the Cougars needing only one win in the top two spots to secure the opening point. Due to injuries, Minnesota played the match with only four healthy players, meaning it forfeited the No. 3 doubles. The Cougars took advantage as WSU's Eva Alvarez Sande and Elyse Tse posted a 6-2 win over Koskel and Aiva Schmitz at No. 2 to secure the point. The match on Court 1 was stopped with WSU's Murphy and Yura Nakagawa leading 4-3 over Zoey Weil and Zeyneb Sarioglan.
 
In singles play, WSU received two forfeits at No.'s 5 and 6 to push the lead to 3-0. Minnesota made it close as it won the next three matches to even the team score at 3-3. At No. 3, Schmitz won a close first set before pulling away from Nakagawa to win 7-5, 6-1. At No. 4, Tse held three second-set points in the tiebreaker but could not pull it out as Sarioglan escaped with a 6-3, 7-6 (8).
 
Weil evened the match for the Gophers as she held on for a 7-5, 2-6, 6-2 win over Alvarez Sande at No. 2, setting the stage for Murphy to provide the heroics.
 
Washington State returns to Pullman for the first time this month when it hosts Eastern Washington Friday at Noon.
 
WASHINGTON STATE WOMEN'S TENNIS
Washington State 4 def. Minnesota 3
February 18, 2023
Dillon Tennis Center
Lincoln, Neb.
 
DOUBLES
No. 1 Maxine Murphy/Yura Nakagawa (WSU) vs. Zoey Weil/Zeyneb Sarioglan (Minn.) 4-3 DNF
No. 2 Elyse Tse/Eva Alvarez Sande (WSU) def. Anet Koskel/Aiva Schmitz (Minn.) 6-2
No. 3 Stefaniia Mikhailova/Tiffany Phout (WSU) won by forfeit
Order of Finish: 2
 
SINGLES
No. 1 #111 Maxine Murphy (WSU) def. Anet Koskel (Minn.) 4-6, 6-4, 6-4
No. 2 Zoey Weil (Minn.) def. Eva Alvarez Sande (WSU) 7-5, 2-6, 6-2
No. 3 Aiva Schmitz (Minn.) def. Yura Nakagawa (WSU) 7-5, 6-1
No. 4 Zeyneb Sarioglan (Minn.) def. Elyse Tse (WSU) 6-3, 7-6 (8)
No. 5 Hania Abouelsaad (WSU) won by forfeit
No. 6 Stefaniia Mikhailova (WSU) won by forfeit
Order of Finish: 3,4,2,1