OJAI, Calif. – Washington State Tennis started strong by capturing the opening doubles point but could not sustain the momentum through singles as the 26th-ranked Washington Huskies came away with a 4-1 win over the Cougars in the opening round of the 2024 Pac-12 Championship Wednesday at the Weil Tennis Academy.
The Cougars jumped out quick in doubles, earning wins at No. 2 and 3 to capture the opening doubles point. At No. 3, WSU’s pair of Hania Abouelsaad and Martina Markov completed a 6-2 win over Melissa Sakar and Catherine Gagnon, marking the second time in less than a week the Cougar duo posted a win over Washington. At No. 2, Yura Nakagawa and Fifa Kumhom clinched the opening point with a convincing 6-2 win over Dariya Detkovskaya and Erika Matsuda. The match at No. 1 was stopped with WSU’s Eva Alvarez Sande and Elyse Tse trailing No. 48 Astrid Olsen and Alexia Jacobs, 4-5.
Washington evened the match at 1-1 when Jacobs, ranked No. 99, defeated Tse 6-w, 6-4 at No. 2 singles, then took a 2-1 edge when Detkovskaya completed a 6-3, 6-1 win over Markov at No. 6.
The Huskies increased their lead to 3-1 when Olsen held off a charging Nakagawa to win 6-3, 0-6, 6-4 at No. 3. The clinching win came at No. 1 when Matsuda escaped with two close sets to defeat Alvarez Sande, 7-6, 7-5, rallying from a 2-5 deficit in the second set.
The final two matches were halted in the third sets as Kumhom was down a break to Sakar, 7-5, 3-6, 0-2 at No. 4, while Abouelsaad was trailing Fortin at No. 5, 4-6, 6-4, 3-5.
The loss ends WSU’s 2024 season at 10-12.
WASHINGTON STATE TENNIS
#26 Washington 4 def. Washington State 1
April 24, 2024
Weil Tennis Academy
Ojai, Calif.
DOUBLES
No. 1 Eva Alvarez Sande/Elyse Tse (WSU) vs. #48 Astrid Olsen/Alexia Jacobs (UW) 4-5 DNF
No. 2 Yura Nakagawa/Fifa Kumhom (WSU) def. Dariya Detkovskaya/Erika Matsuda (UW) 6-2
No. 3 Hania Abouelsaad/Martina Markov (WSU) def. Melissa Sakar/Catherine Gagnon (UW) 6-2
Order of Finish: 3,2
SINGLES
No. 1 Erika Matsuda (UW) def. Eva Alvarez Sande (WSU) 7-6, 7-5
No. 2 #99 Alexia Jacobs (UW) def. Elyse Tse (WSU) 6-2, 6-4
No. 3 #105 Astrid Olsen (UW) def. Yura Nakagawa (WSU) 6-3, 0-6, 6-4
No. 4 Fifa Kumhom (WSU) vs. Melissa Sakar (UW) 7-5, 3-6, 0-2 DNF
No. 5 Hania Abouelsaad (WSU) vs. Sarah-Maude Fortin (UW) 6-4, 4-6, 5-3 DNF
No. 6 Dariya Detkovskaya (UW) def. Martina Markov…
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