ROME, Ga. (May 7, 2025) – Washington State Tennis captured the opening doubles point then won three singles matches en route to a 4-0 victory over Northern Illinois during Wednesday's quarterfinal match at the UTR Sports National Invitational Tournament at the Rome Tennis Center on the Berry College campus.
 
With the win, the Cougars improve to 18-8 on the season while the Huskies end their campaign at 22-8.
 
The win over Northern Illinois marked the first postseason victory for Cougar Tennis since posting a 4-3 win over Florida State in the first round of the 2012 NCAA Championships in Gainesville, Fla.
 
Doubles opened up play and the Cougars wasted no time jumping to an early lead. At No. 1, the nation's 61st-ranked pair of Eva Alvarez Sande and Maxine Murphy cruised to a 6-2 win over Maria Dzemeshkevich and Nataly Miroslavova Ninova. WSU's No. 2 duo of Elyse Tse and Chisato Kanemaki secured the doubles point with a 6-1 victory over Lucia Yecora and Isabella Righi, giving WSU a 1-0 lead heading into singles. At No. 3, WSU's Hania Abouelsaad and Martina Puvill were up a break against Reagan Welch and Jenna Horne, 4-2, when the match was stopped.
 
In singles action, Murphy quickly pushed WSU's lead to 2-0 as she completed a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Irmak Budak. The win improved Murphy's dual-match record to a team-best 17-6. At No. 6, Puvill snapped a two-match skid as she had no trouble in a 6-2, 6-2 win over Theodora Kousiou, giving WSU A 3-0 lead and within one match of clinching the team win.
 
That clinching win came at No. 1 singles where Alvarez Sande battled through two close sets to come away with a 7-5, 6-4 win over Dzemeshkovich to push the Cougars into the semifinal round. With the team win secured, the remaining three matches were stopped. At No. 3, Tse and Yecora were about to start the third set, with Tse winning the first, 7-5, and Yecora capturing the second by an identical score.
 
At No. 4, Abouelsaad was locked in a close match with Miroslavova Ninova, tied at 6-7, 6-1, 4-4, while Kanemaki was trailing Righi, 4-6, 3-5 at No. 5.
 
The Cougars will face North Texas in a semifinal match Thursday at 10 a.m. PT. North Texas advanced Wednesday with a 4-1 win over Appalachian State.
 
WASHINGTON STATE TENNIS
#57 Washington State 4 def. Northern Illinois 0
UTR Sports National Invitational Tournament
May 7, 2025
Rome Tennis Center at Berry College
Rome, Ga.
 
DOUBLES
No. 1 #61 Eva Alvarez Sande/Maxine Murphy (WSU) def. Maria Dzemeshkevich/Nataly Miroslavova Ninova (NIU) 6-2
No. 2 Elyse Tse/Chisato Kanemaki (WSU) def. Lucia Yecora/Isabella Righi (NIU) 6-1
No. 3 Hania Abouelsaad/Martina Puvill (WSU) vs. Reagan Welch/Jenna Horne (NIU) 4-2 DNF
Order of Finish: 1,2
 
SINGLES
No. 1 Eva Alvarez Sande (WSU) vs. Maria Dzemeshkevich (NIU) 7-5, 6-4
No. 2 Maxine Murphy (WSU) def. Irmak Budak (NIU) 6-1, 6-2
No. 3 Elyse Tse (WSU) vs. Lucia Yecora (NIU) 7-5, 5-7 DNF
No. 4 Hania Abouelsaad (WSU) vs. Nataly Miroslavova Ninova (NIU) 6-7, 6-1, 4-4 DNF
No. 5 Chisato Kanemaki (WSU) vs. Isabela Righi (NIU) 4-6, 3-5 DNF
No. 6 Martina Puvill (WSU) def. Theodora Kousiou (NIU) 6-2, 6-2
Order of Finish: 2,6,1