CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (January 28, 2023) – Washington State captured the opening doubles point and was deep into the third set in three matches but it was Northwestern that came away with a 4-1 victory over the Cougars Saturday evening in the consolation match of the 2023 ITA Kickoff Weekend at Boar’s Head Tennis Club.
With the loss, the Cougars fall to 2-02 on the season while Northwestern improves to 3-1.
In doubles action, WSU’s Elyse Tse and Yang Lee pushed the Cougars’ out early as they jumped out to a 5-1 lead en route to a 6-3 win at No. 2 over Briana Crowley and Sydney Pratt. Northwestern got a win back at No. 3 when Kiley Rabjohns and Maria Shusharina defeated Yura Nakagawa and Fifa Kumhom, 6-4, pushing the deciding point to Court 1. On Court 1, WSU’s Maxine Murphy and Eva Alvarez Sande led 4-2 before Northwestern’s duo of Justine Leong and Christina Hand rallied for three-straight games to take a 5-4 lead. Following a Murphy service hold, the Cougar duo broke one final time to secure the opening doubles point.
During singles play, Northwestern struck first as Rabjohns came away with a 6-4, 6-0 win at No. 6 over Stefaniia Mikhailova, evening the match at 1-1. The Wildcats took their first lead when Hand, ranked No. 54 nationally, completed a 6-2, 6-2, win over Alvarez Sande on Court 2.
Northwestern extended its lead to 3-1 as Leong finished a 6-4, 6-2 win over Tse at No. 4, pushing the Wildcats to withing one match of victory. With the final three matches in the third set, it was Crowley at No. 5 that found the clincher for…
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