THIS WEEK: The Washington State Tennis team begins its 2024 dual match season Saturday, Jan. 20, against Eastern Washington at the Simmelink Tennis Courts at Hollingbery Fieldhouse. Match time against the Eagles is set for 1 p.m. with free pizza given away to fans. The two-match homestand continues Sunday when the Cougars host Idaho at 11:30 a.m. Free coffee and donuts will be available for fans in attendance.

 

SCOUTING EASTERN WASHINGTON: The Eagles opened their 2024 campaign last weekend in Seattle, falling 7-0 to No. 24 Washington. Eastern returns its top two players from last season in seniors Jennifer Kida and Scout Mathews. The Cougars hold an all-time mark of 41-2 against EWU, including a 7-0- win last season in Pullman.

 

SCOUTING IDAHO: The Vandals begin their dual match season Sunday when they visit WSU in Pullman. Idaho returns all six players who started in the lineup a season ago, including All-Big Sky First Team Singles selection, Annabel Davis. WSU holds a 35-18 advantage in the all-time series.

 

FALL RECAP: WSU had a strong showing last fall, posting multiple flight titles. Senior Fifa Kumhom posted a 10-1 singles record, winning her flight at the Gonzaga Invite and reaching the fourth round at the ITA Northwest Regional. Sophomore Yura Nakagawa went 7-1 in singles, also winning her flight at the Gonzaga Invite, and paired with Kumhom for a 6-2 mark in doubles.

 

NEXT UP: Following this weekend's matches, the Cougars embark on a five-match road swing over the next three weeks, starting in Boise Jan. 26 against Idaho State.

 

HOLLINGBERY RENOVATION: The Simmelink Tennis Courts at Hollingbery Fieldhouse underwent a renovation in December of 2023. A new playing surface was installed along with branded backdrops around the four courts.

 

ITF CIRCUIT SUCCESS: Cougar Tennis players made an impression on the ITF circuit over the 2023 summer as Eva Alvarez Sande, Elyse Tse, Fifa Kumhom and Hania Abouelsaad all played tour events. Elyse Tse reached a career-best ranking of 1,024 as she was 7-4 over the summer, reaching the quarterfinals of the W15 Caloundra event in Australia. Playing mainly in Spain and Portugal, Eva Alvarez Sande reached the main draw in four summer ITF tournaments while Fifa Kumhom found success on the doubles court, reaching the semifinals of one event and the finals of the W15 Nakhon Si Thammarat tournament in Thailand. Most recently, in December of 2023, Tse and Kumhom reached the doubles semifinals at the 15k Wellington, New Zealand event.

 

ROSTER BREAKDOWN: For the 2023-24 season the Cougars will have one new player accompany the seven returners. The roster consists of seniors Fifa Kumhom and Hania Abouelsaad, juniors Maxine Murphy and Elyse Tse, along with sophomores Eva Alvarez Sande, Yura Nakagawa and Tiffany Phout. Freshman Martina Markova joins the Cougar lineup this season.

 

COACH RAQUEL ATAWO: Raquel Atawo is in her third season as head coach of the Cougars after being named to the position July 2, 2021. Atawo arrived in Pullman having spent the 2021 season as the assistant coach at Auburn and prior to that, spent 15 years on the WTA Tour, where she reached No. 10 world ranking in doubles.

 

FOLLOW LIVE: For all Cougar home tennis matches at Hollingbery Fieldhouse, live video streams of each match can be found HERE while live scoring is available HERE.

 

FOLLOW THE COUGARS: Keep up with Washington State tennis by following @WSUCougarTennis on Twitter, @wsucougartennis on Instagram, and Washington State Cougar Tennis on Facebook.