PULLMAN, Wash. (April 18, 2025) – Washington State Tennis freshman Chisato Kanemaki converted on her fifth match point to give the Cougars a 4-2 win over No. 44 San Diego Friday afternoon at the WSU Outdoor Tennis Courts. The victory was the first against nationally-ranked opponent this season for WSU and marked the highest-ranked win since defeating No. 35 Washington, April 20, 2022.
 
With the win, the Cougars improve to 15-7 on the season, 5-2 in West Coast Conference play. San Diego, which had already clinched the WCC regular season title, dropped it's first conference match of the season and falls to 10-9, 5-1.
 
With WSU leading 3-2 and two matches still on court, a Cougar victory came down to Kanemaki at No. 5 or sophomore Martina Markov at No. 6. Both matches were in the third set, but it was Kanemaki who found an early break against San Diego's Anni Pulls. Leading 4-2, the Cougar freshman broke Puls for the second time to move ahead 5-2, then serviced out the match to seal the victory. Markova was even with Gabby Gregg at 7-5, 4-6, 3-3, when the match was stopped with the team outcome decided.
 
The Cougars opened the day by claiming wins at No. 3 and 2 doubles to capture the opening doubles point. Hania Abouelsaad and Markov set to the tone with a 6-0 victory at No. 3 over Kristina Nordikyan and Puls. Elyse Tse and Kanemaki followed with a 6-3 win over Hannah Read and Gregg at No. 2, giving WSU an early 1-0 lead. The No. 1 match was abandoned with WSU's Eva Alvarez Sande and Maxine Murphy leading Claudia de las Heres and Kailey Evans, 4-3.
 
In singles play, Evans, ranked No. 27 nationally, evened the match as she completed a 6-2, 6-2 win over Alvarez Sande at No. 2. At No. 3, Tse gave the Cougars the lead for good with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Nordikyan, followed by Abouelsaad's 7-6 (4), 6-0 win over read to push the lead to 3-1.
 
At No. 1, de las Heres needed three set to get past Murphy, 7-5, 2-6, 6-0m giving San Diego its second point, but it was not enough as Kanemaki closed the door on any Torero comeback.
 
The Cougars close out their regular season schedule Saturday at 10:40 a.m. when they host Santa Clara at the WSU Outdoor Tennis Courts. Seniors Abouelsaad and Tse will be recognized in a brief ceremony prior to the match.
 
WASHINGTON STATE TENNIS
#61 Washington State 4 def. #44 San Diego 2
April 18, 2025
WSU Outdoor Tennis Courts
Pullman, Wash.
 
DOUBLES 
No. 1 #44 Eva Alvarez Sande/Maxine Murphy (WSU) vs. Claudia de las Heres/Kailey Evans (USD) 4-3 DNF
No. 2 Elyse Tse/Chrisato Kanemaki (WSU) def. Hannah Read/Gabby Gregg (USD) 6-3
No. 3 Hania Abouelsaad/Martina Markov (WSU) def. Kristina Nordikyan/Anni Puls (USD) 6-0
Order of Finish: 3,2
 
SINGLES
No. 1 #99 Claudia de las Heres (USD) def. Maxine Murphy (WSU) 7-5, 2-6, 6-0
No. 2 #27 Kailey Evans (USD) def. Eva Alvarez Sande (WSU) 6-2, 6-2
No. 3 Elyse Tse (WSU) def. Kristian Nordikyan (USD) 6-4, 6-3
No. 4 Hania Abouelsaad (WSU) def. Hannah Read (USD) 7-6 (4), 6-0
No. 5 Chisato Kanemaki (WSU) def. Anni Pulls (USD) 6-3, 5-7, 6-2
No. 6 Gabby Gregg (USD) vs. Martina Markov (WSU) vs. Gabby Gregg (USD) 7-5, 4-6, 3-3 DNF
Order of Finish: 2,3,4,1,5