Cougars Head to Eugene to Face No. 67 Oregon

Friday, March 13

Eugene, Ore.

11 AM

Washington State University

Oregon

Photo by: Dean Hare/WSU Photo Services

March 12, 2026 | Tennis

Live Stream Live Stats

By: Washington State Athletic Communications

PULLMAN, Wash. (March 12, 2026) –Washington State Women's Tennis, No. 61 nationally in the most recent ITA rankings, returns to the road to face No. 67 Oregon, Friday, March 13 at 11 a.m. at the Student Tennis Center in Eugene. The contest marks the fourth-straight for WSU against a nationally-ranked opponent.

SCOUTING OREGON: The Ducks enter Friday's match with a 9-4 record, coming off a 4-0 win over #64 Rutgers in their last outing. Oregon is ranked No. 67 in the most recent ITA rankings. Tilde Jagare has been the main No. 1 player, posting a 7-3 record in dual matches. Oregon holds the all-time series advantage at 41-26, which includes a 4-3 victory in Eugene in the most recent meeting (2024).

FOLLOW THE OREGON MATCH: Fans wishing to follow the Oregon match this Friday can check in HERE for the live stream, and HERE for live stats.

MURPHY NAMED WCC SINGLES PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Redshirt-senior Maxine Murphy has been named the West Coast Conference's Women's Singles Tennis Player of the Week, the conference announced Tuesday. Last week against No. 16 Pepperdine, Murphy posted the biggest singles win of her Cougar career, defeating the Waves' Anastasiia Grechkina, 6-3, 6-4, who entered the match ranked No. 10 nationally. Murphy's victory was the highest-ranked win for a Cougar player since Michaela Bayerlova defeated No. 9 Chloe Beck of Duke at the NCAA Championships, May 24, 2022.

MURPHY, ALVAREZ SANDE SHINE AGAINST NO. 16 PEPPERDINE: Along with Maxine Murphy's signature win over Pepperdine's Anastasiia Grechkina, ranked No. 10 nationally, Cougar senior Eva Alvarez Sande also posted her biggest win of the season as she defeated Ziva Falkner, who was ranked No. 43.

COUGARS IN NATIONAL RANKINGS: Washington State enters this week at a season-best No. 61 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association national rankings, up seven spots from the previous week.

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 the Oregon match, the Cougars return home to host Eastern Washington, Saturday, March 21, at 1 p.m.

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 THE COUGARS: Keep up with Washington State tennis by following @WSUCougarTennis on Twitter, @wsucougartennis on Instagram, and Washington State Cougar Tennis on Facebook.