Cougars Host Gonzaga in Lone Weekend Match

Saturday, April 4

Pullman, Wash.

1 p.m.

Washington State University

Gonzaga

Photo by: Shelly Hanks/WSU Photo Services

April 03, 2026 | Tennis

Live Stats

By: Washington State Athletic Communications

PULLMAN, Wash. (April 3, 2026) – Washington State Women's Tennis, No. 71 nationally in the most recent ITA rankings, host Gonzaga Saturday, April 4, in the Cougars' lone match this weekend. The Gonzaga match is set for 1 p.m. at the WSU Outdoor Tennis Courts. The Cougars enter Saturday on a four-match winning streak and hold an 11-7 record, 3-1 in West Coast Conference play.

SCOUTING GONZAGA: The Bulldogs enter the match with an 8-9 overall record, 0-4 in WCC play. Emily Robertson leads the team with a 9-2 dual match record, playing all her matches at No. 1 singles. The Cougars hold a 26-1 advantage in the all-time series, including a 6-1 victory last season in Spokane.

COUGARS IN NATIONAL RANKINGS: With the release of the most recent ITA rankings, WSU remained in the Top 75, checking in this week at No. 71, staying level with its ranking from the previous week. 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. 93 this week, while Murphy entered at No. 99 and came in this week at No. 100. 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.

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 March 10. 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.

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 Gonzaga match, the Cougars close out their home schedule when they host Seattle U (April 11) and Portland (April 12)< with="" the="" portland="" match="" being="" senior="" day="" in="" pullman.="">

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.