THIS WEEK: Washington State Tennis (9-5) takes a break from Pac-12 play as its heads to southern California for a pair of nonconference matches. The road trip begins Friday, March 22 as the Cougars face Cal State Northridge at 1 p.m. in Northridge. The following day, March 23, WSU travels east to face Cal State Fullerton at 11 a.m.
 
SCOUTING CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE: The Matadors enter the match with a 6-1 overall record. They are coming off a 4-3 victory over Cal Poly in their last match. CSUN leads the all-time series, 2-1, which dates back to 1981. WSU won in 2005 and the Matadors came away with a 4-3 win in the last meeting, 2010.
 
SCOUTING CAL STATE FULLERTON: The Titans are 9-4 on the season, coming off a 7-0 win over UC Riverside. They defeated Gonzaga 4-0 and lost to Fresno State, 4-3, earlier this season, both teams which WSU has defeated this year. Senior Natalie Duffy is ranked No. 113 nationally and has won her last four matches. Fullerton head coach Trang Huynh served as WSU's assistant coach for three seasons (2018-21). The two programs have only met once, with Fullerton coming away with the win in 1989.
 
LAST TIME OUT: The Cougars picked up their first Pac-12 win of the season, defeating No. 51 Colorado 4-2. After dropping the doubles point, WSU picked up four singles wins and was leading in the fifth when the match was clinched.
 
COUGARS ENTER RANKINGS: The Cougars made their first appearance of the season in the ITA Tennis rankings, entering at No. 73 following the win over Colorado. It marked the first time WSU has been ranked since late in the 2022 season after defeating Washington.
 
NEXT UP: Following this weekend's match, the Cougars return to Pac-12 play when they visit Oregon, March 31.
 
NET POINTS

• Senior Fifa Kumhom recorded her 50th singles victory as a Cougar, defeating Colorado last Sunday
• Junior Elyse Tse holds a 11-1 singles record in dual matches, tops on the team
• Tse and sophomore Eva Alvarez Sande are 10-3 in dual matches, all at No. 1 doubles
• WSU is 4-1 when playing in Pullman this season

 
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.
 
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.