Cougar Tennis Set to Host Idaho Friday

THIS WEEK (February 25, 2021):  The Cougars (4-4) return to the Simmelink Tennis Courts at Hollingbery Fieldhouse as they host Idaho Friday, February 26, at 2 p.m. It marks the first home match for WSU since defeating Montana and Eastern Washington on January 30.
 
FOLLOW LIVE: Live video of Washington State's match against Idaho is available HERE and live stats can be found HERE.
 
LAST TIME OUT: WSU saw its upset bid of No. 15 Baylor fall just short as the Bears rallied with four singles victories to pull out a 4-3 win in Seattle last Saturday.
 
SCOUTING IDAHO: The Vandals are off to a 1-3 start, with their lone victory coming against Portland State on February 6. The Cougars hold a 33-18 advantage in the all-time series, include the last 23.
 
UP NEXT: Washington State begins Pac-12 play next weekend when it hosts No. 6 UCLA and No. 17 USC at Hollingbery Fieldhouse, Friday March 5 and Sunday March 7, respectively.
 
LY-NGUYEN OFF TO FAST START: Junior Savanna Ly-Nguyen is off to a fast start for the 2021 season, posting a 6-0 singles record entering the weekend. In her six victories she has dropped just one set, and surrendered more than seven total games in a match just once.
 
ATES EARNS PAC-12 PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS: Washington State senior Melisa Ates was named the Pac-12 Conference Women's Tennis Player of the Week, the conference office announced February 17. Ates is the first Cougar to earn Pac-12 weekly accolades since Michael Bayerlova received the same recognition in February of 2019. Ates helped Washington State to a pair of road victories over Montana State and Gonzaga last Sunday in Spokane. The Antalya, Turkey native paired with teammate Yang Lee to notch a win at No. 2 doubles against MSU and later earned a win at No. 1 doubles against the Bulldogs. In singles play, Ates continued to propel her name up the Cougar record book, posting two wins at No. 6 singles and pushing her career win total to 93, passing Ksenia Googe for the fifth-most wins in program history.
 
ATES CLIMBING WINS LIST: Senior Melisa Ates moved into fifth place on WSU's all-time singles wins list with 94. Next up on the list is Aneta Miksovska at No. 4 with 98 wins.
 
BAYERLOVA ENTERS SEASON AT NO. 55: Michaela Bayerlova enters the 2021 season riding with a No. 55 ranking the preseason poll. The senior is also looking for her third-straight NCAA Singles Championship appearance, having gone as a freshman and sophomore, and was on track last year before the season was cut short due to COVID.
 
ROSTER BREAKDOWN: For the 2020-21 season the Cougars will have two new players to accompany the six returners. The returning roster consists of seniors Melisa Ates and Michaela Bayerlova, juniors Yang Lee, Savanna Ly-Nguyen and Hikaru Sato, along with freshmen Maddie Egan and Pang Jittakoat. Newcomers include freshmen Hania Abouelsaad and Fifa Kumhom.
 
COACH HART: Lisa Hart is in her 18th season as the head coach at Washington State. Hart has accumulated a 236-195 (.548) record while leading the Cougars, the most coaching wins in program history.