Cougars Return Home for Three Weekend Matches

Friday, February 20

Pullman, Wash.

11 a.m.

Washington State University

Portland State

Photo by: Shelly Hanks/WSU Photo Services

February 19, 2026 | Tennis

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By: Washington State Athletic Communications

PULLMAN, Wash. (Feb. 19, 2026) – The Washington State Women's Tennis team returns home after four matches on the road when it hosts Portland State Friday, Feb. 20, 11 a.m. at Hollingbery Fieldhouse. It's part of a three-match weekend as Sunday, Feb. 22, WSU will host Montana at 10 a.m. and Montana State at 2 p.m. Both of those matches will also be at Hollingbery Fieldhouse.

SCOUTING PORTLAND STATE: The Vikings are off to a 3-1 start this season, defeating Puget Sound, Pacific and Linfield after dropping the opener at Oregon. Washington State leads the all-time series, 13-0, including a 7-0 victory last season in Pullman.

SCOUTING MONTANA: Montana is off to a 1-4 start to begin the season, with the lone victory coming at South Dakota Feb. 6. The Griz will face Lewis-Clark Start Saturday before heading north to Pullman for Sunday's match. The Cougars lead the all-time series, 43-4, including wins in the last 22 matches dating back to 1987.

SCOUTING MONTANA STATE: The Bobcats enter the week with a 3-3 record on the season, though they have dropped their last two at Boise State and against Santa Clara. MSU will face Idaho on Friday before heading to Pullman for Sunday's match. The Cougars lead the all-time series against the Bobcats, 20-10, including the last 14 meetings dating back to 1991.

ALVAREZ SANDE, NAKGAWA NAMED WCC DOUBLES TEAM OF THE WEEK: Following WSU's trip to Northern California in early February against Sacramento State and UC Davis, the paid of Eva Alvarez Sande and Yura Nakagawa were named the WCC Doubles Team of the Week. The pair went 2-0 in those matches, helping the Cougs capture the doubles point in each.

PORTLAND STATE AND EASTERN WASHINGTON ADDED TO 2026 SCHEDULE: After missing two matches due to weather concerns at the ITA Kickoff Weekend, Washington State has added two opponents to the spring schedule. The Cougars will now host Portland State on February 20 and Eastern Washington on March 21,

COUGARS PICKED THIRD IN WCC PRESEASON POLL: WSU was picked third in the 2026 West Coast Conference Women's Tennis preseason poll, voted on by the conferences' 10 head coaches. Defending champion Pepperdine garnered the top spot in the preseason poll, receiving eight of the 10 first-place votes, to finish ahead of San Diego, which garnered the other two first-place votes. Washington State was third, followed by Loyola Marymount and Gonzaga to round out the top five. Cougar seniors Eva Alvarez Sande and Maxine Murphy were both named to the 2026 WCC Preseason Team, accounting for two of the six members.

NEXT UP: Following this weekend's matches, the Cougars travel to Seattle to face Washington (Feb. 27) and UC Santa Barbara (Feb. 28).

LAST TIME OUT: In their last match, the Cougars dropped a 4-3 contest at Utah. Eva Alvarez Sande, Maxine Murphy and Ava-Monet Sycamore all picked up singles wins in the match.

COUGARS TO PLAY IN WEST COAST CONFERENCE: For the 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. This season marks the second of two seasons in the WCC before the Pac-12 resumes full-membership status beginning with the 2026-27 season.

COUGARS SIGN JOLYNN GARRETT: In early January, Washington State University Tennis announced a new team member, signing 10-year-old JoLynn Garrett through Team IMPACT. JoLynn, who is navigating life with Williams syndrome, officially signed with the team. She will participate in many activities with Washington State Tennis, including games, practices, and other team events, over the next two years.

ROSTER BREAKDOWN: For the 2025-26 season, the Cougar roster consists of seniors Maxine Murphy and Eva Alvarez Sande, juniors Yura Nakagawa and Zali Morris, sophomores Chisato Kanemaki, Martina Puvill and Haylee Conway, and freshman Ava-Monet Sycamore.

HEAD COACH JOSH GRAETZ: Josh Graetz became the program's ninth head coach in the summer of 2025 after spending the previous two seasons as the Cougars' assistant coach. Graetz played a key role in WSU's run to the 2025 National Invitational Tournament title. Prior to WSU, Graetz served as the head coach for both men's and women's programs at Metropolitan State University in Denver, his alma mater.

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.