Cougars Into Second Round at ITA Sectional Championships

SEATTLE, Wash. (Nov. 6, 2025) – Washington State seniors Eva Alvarez Sande and Maxine Murphy each won their singles matches Thursday to open play at the 2025 ITA Sectional Championships, played at the Nordstrom Tennis Center on the Washington campus.

Murphy was dominate in defeating Stanford's Sein Myoung, 6-4, 6-1 in the first round. After a close first set where Murphy broke serve at 4-4 then held to take the first set. In the second, Murphy overpowered Myoung from the baseball to cruise to the straight-set win.

Alvarez Sande needed three sets to get past Washington's Jermine Sherif, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3, to advance to the second round. After a strong first set that saw the Cougar senior in total control, Sherif rallied to earn a pair of service breaks to event the match at a set each. In the third, Sherif struck first with a service break to go up 3-1, but it was all Alvarez Sande the rest of the way, winning five-straight games to close out the match.

In doubles action, Alvarez Sande and Murphy never got it going as they dropped a 6-3, 6-1 contest against Washington's Erika Matsuda and Carina Syrtveit.

Murphy will face Matsuda in Friday's second round while Alvarez Sande will meet California's Berta Passola Folch, the tournament's No. 5 seed.

The 2025 ITA Sectional Championships consists of a 32-player singles draw and 16-team doubles draw. From those draws, six singles players will qualify for the NCAA Singles Championship (semifinalists, two quarterfinal playoff winners). Meanwhile, three doubles teams will qualify for the NCAA Doubles Championship (champion, finalist, third place).

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Players Mentioned

Eva Alvarez Sande

Maxine Murphy

Washington State University Athletics