THIS WEEK: The Washington State Tennis team (4-0) heads to Seattle to face Baylor in a neutral site match Saturday, Feb. 3, at the Nordstrom Tennis Center on the Washington campus. Match time is set for 11 a.m.
 
SCOUTING BAYLOR: The Bears are 1-2 on their season, with a win over SMU and losses to No. 9 Florida and No. 10 Texas. Baylor finished last season ranked No. 36 and currently sit just outside the top 25, receiving votes in the ITA rankings. Following the match against WSU, Baylor will face No. 21 Washington Sunday in Seattle.
 
LAST TIME OUT: The Cougars improved to 4-0 to begin the season as it traveled to Boise, Idaho to face Idaho State and Boise State. WSU began the weekend with a 5-2 win over Idaho State before posting a 7-0 victory over host Boise State.
 
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 match, the Cougars head to Portland to face the University of Portland Friday, Feb. 9 and then Portland State on Feb. 10.
 
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 a 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.