Cougars Fall at Colorado – Washington State University Athletics

BOULDER, Colo  – Washington State Tennis captured the opening doubles point but was not able to take advantage in singles play as No. 70 Colorado posted a 5-2 win over the Cougars Friday afternoon at the CU Tennis Complex.
 
With the loss, the Cougars fall to 7-10 on the season, 0-6 in Pac-12 play. Colorado improves to 11-7, 1-5.
 
The day began with doubles where it came down to the match on Court 1 to determine the opening point. On Court 3, Colorado’s Ellen Puzak and Betina Tokac cruised to a 6-1 win over WSU’s Yang Lee and Hania Abouelsaad. WSU responded with a 6-4 win on Court 2 as the duo of Yura Nakagawa and Fifa Kumhom raced to a 5-2 lead then held on for the win over Mila Stanojevic and Elys Ventura, pushing the deciding match to No.1. There, the Cougar pair of Eva Alvarez Sande and Elyse Tse needed a tiebreaker before prevailing 7-6 (7-3) over Antonia Balzert and Aya El Sayed, giving WSU the opening point. The win also improved Alvarez Sande and Tse’s doubles record to 9-0 this season as the duo entered the match with a No. 46 national ranking.
 
In singles play, Colorado raced to a 3-1 lead by capturing three-straight wins. At No. 5, Tokac posted a 6-4, 6-1 victory over Abouelsaad, followed by Balzert’s 7-5, 6-0 win at No. 1 over Alvarez Sande. El Sayed made it 3-1 Buffs with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Kumhom at No. 4.
 
WSU got one back to cut the lead to 3-2 when Tse broke a three-match skid with a 6-4, 7-6 (4) win over Stanojevic at No. 3. The Buffs clinched the victory at No. 2 when Ventura narrowly got by Nakagawa, winning 6-4, 7-6 (3) to give Colorado a 4-2 lead with one match remaining.
 
The final match went three sets as WSU’s Stefaniia Mikhailova battled CU’s Hayes. After Hayes took the first set, Mikhailova swept the second 6-0, forcing a third. The Cougar sophomore trailed 5-2 in the third before earning a break to cut the lead to 5-4, but drew no closer as Hayes completed a 6-3, 0-6, 6-4 win at No. 6 to end the day.
 
The Cougars are next in action Sunday when they visit No. 60 Utah at 9:30 a.m. PT.
 
WASHINGTON STATE TENNIS
No. 70 Colorado 5 def. Washington State 2
April 7, 2023
CU Tennis Complex
Boulder, Colo.
 
DOUBLES
No. 1 Eva Alvarez Sande/Elyse Tse (WSU) def. Antonia Balzert/Aya El Sayed (Colo.) 7-6 (3)
No. 2 Yura Nakagawa/Fifa Kumhom (WSU) def. Mila Stanojevic/Elys Ventura (Colo.) 6-4
No. 3 Ellen Puzak/Betina…