Washington State University Athletics
Thursday, April 23
Fairfield, Calif.
6 p.m.
Washington State University
vs
Santa Clara
Photo by: Dean Hare/WSU Photo Services
WSU Enters WCC Championships as No. 3 Seed, Face Santa Clara in First Round
April 22, 2026 | Tennis
PULLMAN, Wash. (April 22, 2026) – Washington State Women's Tennis enters the 2026 West Coast Conference Championships as the No. 3 seed and will face No. 6 Santa Clara in a first-round match, Thursday, 6 p.m., at the Green Valley Country Club in Fairfield, Calif.
2026 WEST COAST CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS: The 2026 WCC Tennis Championships run April 23-25 at the Green Valley Country Club in Fairfield, Calif. The Cougars enter as the No. 3 seed and will face No. 6 Santa Clara in an opening-round match. The other opening-round match sees No. 4 Loyola Marymount face No. 5 Portland at 3 p.m. Top-seeded Pepperdine, who enters the tournament with a No. 11 national ranking, will face the winner of the LMU/Portland match, while No. 2-seed San Diego awaits the WSU/SCU winner. Both of those matches take place Friday. Pepperdine is the four-time defending tournament champion. The WCC Championship tournament central page can be found HERE.
SCOUTING SANTA CLARA: The Broncos enter the match with an 8-14 overall record, 4-5 in WCC play. Santa Clara hosted the Cougars April 16, a match that WSU prevailed in, 4-2. has won its previous two matches. The Cougars hold a 10-1 advantage in the all-time series. Live streaming of the match can be found HERE.
COUGARS IN NATIONAL RANKINGS: With the release of the most recent ITA rankings, WSU fell out of the top 75 for the first time in more than a month. In the singles rankings, both Eva Alvarez Sande and Maxine Murphy made their season debut in the March 17 rankings. After entering the rankings at No. 84, Alvarez Sande came in at No. 95 this week, while Murphy entered at No. 99 and fell out of the Top 125 this week. In the March 17 ranking, it marked the first time since Feb. 20, 2019, that the Cougars had two singles players ranked in the same poll, when Michaela Bayerlova was No. 35 and Melissa Ates was No. 106.
Alvarez Sande Named WCC Player of the Year: Senior Eva Alvarez Sande was named the 2026 West Coast Conference Co-Player of the Year, highlighting three Washington State tennis players to garner first-team accolades, the conference announced Tuesday. In addition to her Player of the Year honor, Alvarez Sandez was named to the 2026 All-West Coast Conference Singles first team, while redshirt-senior Maxine Murphy was also a first-team singles selection while also earning first-team doubles honors with sophomore Chisato Kanemaki. Alvarez Sande and Murphy both repeated at First-All-WCC Singles selections, while Murphy also repeated on the First-Team All-WCC Doubles team.
Five Cougars Capture West Coast Conference All-Academic Honors: Five Washington State Tennis student-athletes, led by first-team selections Eva Alvarez Sande, Chisato Kanemaki and Maxine Murphy were named to 2026 West Coast Conference Women's Tennis All-Academic team, the conference announced Wednesday. Additionally, Yura Nakagawa and Martina Puvill were named WCC All-Academic Honorable Mention. It marked the second-straight year Alvarez Sande and Murphy were named to the All-Academic teams, while it was the first for Kanemaki, Nakagawa and Puvill.
EVA ALVAREZ SANDE NAMED WCC SINGLES PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Washington State senior Eva Alvarez Sande was named the West Coast Conference's Women's Singles Tennis Player of the Week, the conference announced Tuesday. It marks the second-consecutive week a Cougar player has received the honor, with Yura Nakagawa receiving the award last week. Alvarez Sande entered the weekend ranked No. 84 in the most recent ITA rankings and proceeded to win both of her singles matches in straight sets. Playing in the No. 1 singles position, Alvarez Sande defeated Seattle's Lamija Avdic 6-4, 6-2, then cruised to a 6-0, 6-2 win over Portland's Alaia Rubio Perez on Senior Day, her final match in Pullman. The victory over Portland was WSU's seventh-straight victory and with her the two victories, Alvares Sande ran her winning streak to five while improving to 14-1 in dual matches this season. This marks the first WCC Singles Player of the Week honor for Alvarez Sande, who has been part of four WCC Doubles Teams of the Week since the start of last season.
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 and Martina Puvill, 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.
2026 WEST COAST CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS: The 2026 WCC Tennis Championships run April 23-25 at the Green Valley Country Club in Fairfield, Calif. The Cougars enter as the No. 3 seed and will face No. 6 Santa Clara in an opening-round match. The other opening-round match sees No. 4 Loyola Marymount face No. 5 Portland at 3 p.m. Top-seeded Pepperdine, who enters the tournament with a No. 11 national ranking, will face the winner of the LMU/Portland match, while No. 2-seed San Diego awaits the WSU/SCU winner. Both of those matches take place Friday. Pepperdine is the four-time defending tournament champion. The WCC Championship tournament central page can be found HERE.
SCOUTING SANTA CLARA: The Broncos enter the match with an 8-14 overall record, 4-5 in WCC play. Santa Clara hosted the Cougars April 16, a match that WSU prevailed in, 4-2. has won its previous two matches. The Cougars hold a 10-1 advantage in the all-time series. Live streaming of the match can be found HERE.
COUGARS IN NATIONAL RANKINGS: With the release of the most recent ITA rankings, WSU fell out of the top 75 for the first time in more than a month. In the singles rankings, both Eva Alvarez Sande and Maxine Murphy made their season debut in the March 17 rankings. After entering the rankings at No. 84, Alvarez Sande came in at No. 95 this week, while Murphy entered at No. 99 and fell out of the Top 125 this week. In the March 17 ranking, it marked the first time since Feb. 20, 2019, that the Cougars had two singles players ranked in the same poll, when Michaela Bayerlova was No. 35 and Melissa Ates was No. 106.
Alvarez Sande Named WCC Player of the Year: Senior Eva Alvarez Sande was named the 2026 West Coast Conference Co-Player of the Year, highlighting three Washington State tennis players to garner first-team accolades, the conference announced Tuesday. In addition to her Player of the Year honor, Alvarez Sandez was named to the 2026 All-West Coast Conference Singles first team, while redshirt-senior Maxine Murphy was also a first-team singles selection while also earning first-team doubles honors with sophomore Chisato Kanemaki. Alvarez Sande and Murphy both repeated at First-All-WCC Singles selections, while Murphy also repeated on the First-Team All-WCC Doubles team.
Five Cougars Capture West Coast Conference All-Academic Honors: Five Washington State Tennis student-athletes, led by first-team selections Eva Alvarez Sande, Chisato Kanemaki and Maxine Murphy were named to 2026 West Coast Conference Women's Tennis All-Academic team, the conference announced Wednesday. Additionally, Yura Nakagawa and Martina Puvill were named WCC All-Academic Honorable Mention. It marked the second-straight year Alvarez Sande and Murphy were named to the All-Academic teams, while it was the first for Kanemaki, Nakagawa and Puvill.
EVA ALVAREZ SANDE NAMED WCC SINGLES PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Washington State senior Eva Alvarez Sande was named the West Coast Conference's Women's Singles Tennis Player of the Week, the conference announced Tuesday. It marks the second-consecutive week a Cougar player has received the honor, with Yura Nakagawa receiving the award last week. Alvarez Sande entered the weekend ranked No. 84 in the most recent ITA rankings and proceeded to win both of her singles matches in straight sets. Playing in the No. 1 singles position, Alvarez Sande defeated Seattle's Lamija Avdic 6-4, 6-2, then cruised to a 6-0, 6-2 win over Portland's Alaia Rubio Perez on Senior Day, her final match in Pullman. The victory over Portland was WSU's seventh-straight victory and with her the two victories, Alvares Sande ran her winning streak to five while improving to 14-1 in dual matches this season. This marks the first WCC Singles Player of the Week honor for Alvarez Sande, who has been part of four WCC Doubles Teams of the Week since the start of last season.
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 and Martina Puvill, 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.
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