PULLMAN, Wash. – Washington State Tennis started fast but in the end it was too much Stanford as the third-ranked Cardinal came away with a 7-0 victory Friday afternoon at the WSU Outdoor Tennis Courts. With the loss, the Cougars fall to 10-9 overall, 1-7 in Pac-12 play. Stanford improved to 17-2, 6-1
 
Doubles started the day and the Cougars were in control early. At No. 2, Yura Nakagawa and Fifa Kumhom cruised to a 6-2 win over Angelica Blake and Emma Sun. WSU had two chances to clinch the doubles point as both Court 1 and 3 went to tiebreakers. At No. 3, Hania Abouelsaad and Martina Markov led 3-2 in the breaker before Stanford captured the final five points to take the tiebreaker, 7-3, pushing the deciding match to Court 1. The back and forth match proved equally close in the breaker before Stanford's Connie Ma and Alexandra Yepifanova escaped with a 7-6 (7-5) win over WSU's Eva Alvarez Sande and Elyse Tse.
 
In singles play, Stanford pulled away early to secure the victory. At No. 5, Stanford's Eleana Yu completed a 6-1, 6-2 win over Abouelsaad, while Hui defeated Nakagawa by identical scores at No. 3. At No. 6, India Houghton posted a 6-2, 6-1 win over Markov before Yepifanova, ranked 24th nationally, held off Tse, 6-0, 6-4 at No. 2.
 
At No. 4, Xu and Kumhom battled in a match that was closer than the final score, with Xu ending up with a 6-2, 6-1 win. The final match at No. 1 went to a 10-point tiebreaker to determine a winner. Ma, ranked No. 10, captured the first set 6-2, before Alvarez Sande picked up her game with a 6-3 second set, forcing a 10-point breaker. Even at 3-3 on the first changeover, Ma then put the match away as she won six-straight points before winning 6-2, 3-6, 1-0 (10-4).
 
WSU is back in action Saturday when it hosts No. 9 California. Match time is set for 11 a.m. at the WSU Outdoor Tennis Courts.
 
WASHINGTON STATE TENNIS
No. 3 Stanford 7 def. Washington State 0
April 12, 2024
WSU Outdoor Tennis Courts
Pullman, Wash.
 
DOUBLES
No. 1 #32 Connie Ma/Alexandra Yepifanova (STAN) def. Eva Alvarez Sande/Elyse Tse (WSU) 7-6 (5)
No. 2 Yura Nakagawa/Fifa Kumhom (WSU) def. Angelica Blake/Emma Sun (STAN) 6-2
No. 3 Katherine Hui/Valencia Xu (STAN) def. Hania Abouelsaad/Martina Markov (WSU) 7-6 (3)
Order of Finish: 2,3,1
 
SINGLES
No. 1 #10 Connie Ma (STAN) def. Eva Alvarez Sande (WSU) 6-2, 3-6, 1-0 (10-4)
No. 2 #24 Alexandra Yepifanova (STAN) def. Elyse Tse (WSU) 6-0, 6-4
No. 3 Katherine Hui (STAN) def. Yura Nakagawa (WSU) 6-1, 6-2
No. 4 Valencia Xu (STAN) def. Fifa Kumhom (WSU) 6-2, 6-1
No. 5 Eleana Yu (STAN) def. Hania Abouelsaad (WSU) 6-1, 6-2
No. 6 India Houghton (STAN) def. Martina Markov (WSU) 6-2, 6-1
Order of Finish: 5,3,6,2,4,1