PULLMAN, Wash. – A late comeback from Washington State fell just short as the Cougars dropped a 5-2 match against No. 44 Utah Friday afternoon at the WSU Outdoor Tennis Courts. With the loss, Washington State falls to 8-5 on the season, 0-3 in Pac-12 play. Utah improves to 10-3, 3-0.
 
The Cougars jumped out quick to secure the opening doubles point. At No. 2, WSU's Yura Nakagawa and Fifa Kumhom had no trouble against Utah's Kat Lyman and Samantha Horwood, winning 6-0. At No. 1, the Cougar duo of Eva Alvarez Sande and Elyse Tse clinched the point with a 6-2 win over Marcela Lopez and Ana Luiza Cruz. The match on the third court was stopped with the doubles point clinched, as Utah's Kaila Barksdale and Sara Akid were leading 5-3 over Hania Abouelsaad and Martina Markov.
 
In singles play, the Utes took a 2-1 lead as Yuhan Liu completed a 6-4, 6-0 win over Nakagawa at No. 3 while Cruz defeated Markov 6-3, 6-2 at No. 6. Utah increased that lead to 3-1 following a 7-6 (6), 6-2 win by Lopez over Alvarez Sande at No. 1. Lopez entered the match ranked No. 75 nationally.
 
The remaining three matches all went into a third set, with WSU needing all three for the victory. Abouelsaad finished first with a 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 win at No. 5 over Emma Kamper. At No. 4, Kumhom's comeback from down 2-5 came up just short as she fell to Lyman, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, clinching the team victory for Utah. In the final match, Barksdale rallied from a set down to defeat Tse, 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (5) at No. 2.
 
WSU is next in action Sunday when it hosts #51 Colorado, 11 a.m. at the WSU Outdoor Tennis Courts.
 
WASHINGTON STATE TENNIS
#44 Utah 5 def. Washington State 2
March 15, 2023
WSU Outdoor Tennis Courts
Pullman, Wash.
 
DOUBLES
No. 1 Eva Alvarez Sande/Elyse Tse (WSU) def. Marcela Lopez/Ana Luiza Crus (Utah) 6-2
No. 2 Yura Nakagawa/Fifa Kumhom (WSU) def. Kat Lyman/Samantha Horwood (Utah) 6-0
No. 3 Hania Abouelsaad/Martina Markov (WSU) def. Kaila Barksdale/Sara Akid (Utah) 3-5 DNF
Order of Finish: 2,1
 
SINGLES
No. 1 #75 Marcela Lopez (Utah) def. Eva Alvarez Sande (WSU) 7-6 (6), 6-2
No. 2 Kaila Barksdale (Utah) def. Elyse Tse (WSU) 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (5)
No. 3 Yuhan Liu (Utah) def. Yura Nakagawa (WSU) 6-4, 6-0
No. 4 Kat Lyman (Utah) def. Fifa Kumhom (WSU) 3-6, 6-4, 6-4
No. 5 Hania Abouelsaad (WSU) def. Ana Luiza Cruz (Utah) 4-6, 6-4, 6-2
No. 6 Sara Akid (Utah) def. Martina Markov (WSU) 6-3, 6-2
Order of Finish: 3,6,1,5,4,2