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Huskies Take First Apple Cup Meeting, 5-2

by gohuskies.com
Feb 19, 2021

SEATTLE – A dramatic rally in the doubles gave the Husky women's tennis team a huge leg up over the rival Cougars today and UW carried that momentum to a 5-2 victory at the Nordstrom Tennis Center. It was the first of two scheduled Boeing Apple Cup Series meetings between the squads this season, with the Huskies ultimately getting four straight set singles wins at the top four spots to secure it.
 
Washington improved to 7-0 with the win while Washington State fell to 4-3.
 
In doubles, the Cougars got a win at the No. 3 spot, but then Nos. 1 and 2 both headed into tiebreaks. At the No. 1 spot, Vanessa Wong and Sarah-Maude Fortin pulled ahead and won their tiebreak, 7-3. However, Sedona Gallagher and Yolanda Lin were down 3-6 in their breaker at No. 2 against Yang Lee and Melisa Ates. But Gallagher and Lin saved all three match points, and then continued streaking with the next two points to pull it out, 8-6, and clinch the doubles point.
 
After the match, Gallagher said, "We haven't been in that situation in over a year, playing with someone completely new. The whole time we were just kind of laughing about it, even when we were down. So it was a fun match to play. It was good to come back, and we were just calm. That's how we made it through those match points, we just played free."

 
Gallagher would then go on and clinch the overall win, as she had a 6-3, 6-3 win over Fifa Kumhom at the No. 3 position, which made it 4-2 Dawgs. That win came on the heels of a big win for Zoey Weil at No. 4 singles, 6-3, 6-2, over Pang Jittakoat.
 
The first point for UW in singles was Vanessa Wong at No. 1, who got a big ranked win over 55th-ranked Michaela Bayerlova, 6-3, 6-2. Wong, ranked 74th herself, improved to 7-0 on the season.
 
The final Husky point was a long and hard-fought but ultimately straight-set win for Sarah-Maude Fortin, who took out Hikaru Sato, 7-5, 7-5, at the No. 2 position, to keep her record perfect.
 
"I feel like we learned a lot about ourselves today and just how tough this team is," said Head Coach Robin Stephenson. "I told them I thought we played our best when our best was needed. We had a slow start in doubles but we stayed consistent, poised, and confident under pressure. I was impressed with our toughness level out there today."
 
The Huskies will have their first ranked opponent of the year up next on Sunday, when they host 15th-ranked Baylor at 1 p.m. at the Nordstrom Tennis Center.
 
February 19, 2021
Nordstrom Tennis Center | Seattle, Wash.
 
Washington – 5
Washington State – 2
 
Singles
1. (#74) Vanessa Wong (UW) def. (#55) Michaela Bayerlova (WSU), 6-3, 6-2
2. Sarah-Maude Fortin (UW) def. Hikaru Sato (WSU), 7-5, 7-5
3. Sedona Gallagher (UW) def. Fifa Kumhom (WSU), 6-3, 6-3
4. Zoey Weil (UW) def. Pang Jittakoat (WSU), 6-3, 6-2
5. Savanna Ly-Nguyen (WSU) def. Yolanda Lin (UW), 6-0, 6-1
6. Melisa Ates (WSU) def. Tara Chilton (UW), 6-2, 6-2
Order of finish: 5, 6, 1, 4, 3, 2
 
Doubles
1. Wong/Fortin (UW) def. Bayerlova/Sato (WSU), 7-6 (3)
2. Gallagher/Lin (UW) def. Yang Lee/Ates (WSU), 7-6 (6)
3. Kumhom/Jittakoat (WSU) def. Weil/Chilton (UW), 6-2
Order of finish: 3, 1, 2
 

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