(January 16, 2025) THIS WEEK: The Washington State Tennis team concludes its season-opening three-match homestand by hosting Idaho and Eastern Washington in a Friday, Jan. 17, doubleheader. The Cougars open Friday hosting Idaho at 10 a.m., followed by a 3 p.m. matchup against EWU. Both matches will be played at the Simmelink Tennis Courts at Hollingbery Fieldhouse. Free donuts will be available for fans watching the Idaho match while pizza will be provided for those attending the Eastern Washington contest.
 
SCOUTING IDAHO: The Vandals begin their 2025 dual schedule Friday against WSU. Last season, Idaho finished with a 9-9 record, 3-5 in Big Sky Conference play. The Cougars posted a 5-2 win in Pullman last season. WSU holds a 36-18 advantage in the all-time series.
 
SCOUTING EASTERN WASHINGTON: The Eagles began their 2025 schedule last Sunday with a 4-3 win over UC Davis, the first win over the Aggies in three meetings. The match against WSU also marks the first of eight-straight on the road for EWU. The Cougars lead the all-time series against the Eagles, 42-2, having won the last 35 matches.
 
ALVAREZ SANDE, MURPHY CAPTURED WCC DOUBLES TEAM OF THE WEEK HONORS: Washington State junior Eva Alvarez Sande and redshirt-junior Maxine Murphy were named the West Coast Conference Women's Doubles Team of the Week, the conference announced Tuesday. WSU opened its 2025 dual match schedule last Saturday in convincing fashion, defeating UC Davis 7-0 at Hollingbery Fieldhouse. Alvarez Sande and Murphy started strong with a 6-3 win at No. 1 doubles over Mika Ikemori and Isabella Bringas, helping WSU capture the opening doubles point. In singles play, both Alvarez Sande and Murphy, playing No.1 and No. 2, respectively, captured straight-set wins as the Cougars captured their season-opener for the fourth-straight year.
 
COUGARS TO PLAY IN WEST COAST CONFERENCE: For the 2024-25 and 2025-26 seasons, the Cougars will be an affiliate member of the West Coast Conference. When conference realignment impacted the Pac-12 Conference following the 2023-24 season, Cougar Tennis was one of 10 WSU athletic programs to become WCC affiliate members. The membership status will be for two years until the Pac-12 resumes full-membership status beginning with the 2026-27 season.
 
LAST TIME OUT: The Cougars opened their 2025 schedule with a convincing 7-0 victory over UC Davis at Hollingbery Fieldhouse, Jan. 11. WSU swept all six singles matches in straight sets, capturing it's fourth-straight season-opening win.
 
NEXT UP: Following Friday's two matches, the Cougars conclude the weekend by facing Michigan State in a neutral site match in Spokane. The match will be played at the Stevens Center on the Gonzaga campus. Match time is set for 10 a.m.
 
ROSTER BREAKDOWN: For the 2024-25 season, the Cougars have three freshmen to accompany the six returners. The roster consists of seniors Hania Abouelsaad and Elyse Tse, juniors Maxine Murphy, Eva Alvarez Sande, Yura Nakagawa, sophomore Martina Markova and freshman Chisato Kanemaki, Martina Puvill and Madhu Satishbabu.
 
COACH RAQUEL ATAWO: Raquel Atawo is in her fourth 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 LIVE: For all Cougar home tennis matches at Hollingbery Fieldhouse, live video streams of each match can be found HERE while live scoring is available HERE.
 
FOLLOW THE COUGARS: Keep up with Washington State tennis by following @WSUCougarTennis on Twitter, @wsucougartennis on Instagram, and Washington State Cougar Tennis on Facebook.