THIS WEEK: The Washington State Tennis team begins a five-match stretch away from Pullman Friday, Jan. 26 when it faces Idaho State in Boise. Match time is set for 10 a.m. PT. The weekend continues Saturday when the Cougars play at Boise State, with that match scheduled for a 10 a.m. PT start. Both matches will be played at the Boas Indoor Tennis Center in Boise.
 
SCOUTING IDAHO STATE: The Bengals opened their season last week by splitting their first two matches. Idaho State began with a 5-2 win at Utah State before falling 7-0 at Utah. The Bengals hold a 2-1 lead in the all-time series, although the schools have only met once since 1988, a 7-0 Cougar win in the 2018 season.
 
SCOUTING BOISE STATE: Boise State is opening its dual match season this weekend by hosting Idaho State and the Cougars. Last year the Broncos posted a 13-11 record, which included a 7-6 mark when playing at home. The Broncos return eight contributors from last season's squad. WSU holds a 17-8 all-time edge over Boise State, including a 4-0 win in 2019, the las time they met. Fans wishing to follow live stats of the match can click HERE.
 
LAST TIME OUT: The Cougars opened their 2024 dual season last weekend by defeating Eastern Washington (7-0) and Idaho (5-2). WSU had little trouble with EWU, then after dropping the doubles point against Idaho, won five of six matches to secure the victory.
 
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 head to Seattle to face Baylor in a nonconference match. That meeting will take place Saturday, Feb. 3 at the Nordstrom Tennis Center.
 
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 accompanying 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 Markov 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 THE COUGARS: Keep up with Washington State tennis by following @WSUCougarTennis on Twitter, @wsucougartennis on Instagram, and Washington State Cougar Tennis on Facebook.