Wazzu sweeps Griz 7-0

Friday, January 13

Pullman, Wash.

11 AM (MT)

Montana

Washington State

Photo by: Tommy Martino

1/13/2023 4:43:00 PM | Women's Tennis

Box Score

By: Montana Sports Information

The Montana women's tennis team opened the 2023 duals season with a 7-0 loss to Washington State in Pullman on Friday, with the Cougars winning five of the six singles matches in straight sets.

The loss in the season opener for both squads drops the Griz to 0-1 to start a three-match road swing through the Palouse this weekend.

Despite the sweep, Montana received a pair of competitive singles performances from senior Maria Goheen on court three and true freshman Shivika Agrawal on court five. UM's No. 1 doubles pair Grace Haugen and Hailey Murphy also lost a narrow set on court one 5-7 to open the match.

"We had some good energy at doubles and played tight at one, but it was our first match of the year, and it looked like it in places," said head coach Steve Ascher.

"We had good energy though, and I thought our concentration was good. For the first match of the year, with just a week of practice, I thought it was solid. We'll be able to take a lot from it."

Goheen was Montana's first near-upset of the day, going point-for-point in the first set before falling 4-6, then forcing a tiebreaker in the second set, eventually falling 6-7 (6) to WSU's Elyse Tse. In December, Tse picked up her first professional ITF main draw win at the 25K tournament in New Zealand.

Agrawal was the only Grizzly to take a set off the Cougars, bouncing back from a narrow 5-7 loss in the first to win the second set 6-3 over WSU's Yang Lee. Lee poured it on in the super breaker, however, winning 10 of 12 points to win the match 7-5, 3-6, 1-0 (2) and seal the shutout for the Cougars.

"She (Agrawal) has been developing really well. She's been learning and improving each week," said Ascher.

"She played a really good second set after losing the first. But I kind of expect this competitiveness from her, just watching her daily and seeing how she prepares and how hard she works."

Montana now turns its attention to its second match of the weekend, with UM taking on Gonzaga at the Stevens Tennis Center in Spokane Saturday morning. The Griz cap the weekend against Seattle University at Gonzaga on Sunday.

Washington State 7 def. Montana 0
January 13, 2023
Simmelink Tennis Courts
Pullman, Wash.

DOUBLES
No. 1 Maxine Murphy/Eva Alvarez Sande (WSU) def. Grace Haugen/Hailey Murphy (UM)
No. 2 Elyse Tse/Yang Lee (WSU) def. Lauren Dunlap/Rosie Sterk (UM) 6-1
No. 3 Fifa Kumhom/Stefaniia Mikhailova (WSU) def. Maria Goheen/Shivika Agrawal (UM) 6-2
Order of Finish: 2,3,1

SINGLES
No. Maxine Murphy (WSU) def. Hailey Murphy (UM) 6-0, 6-1
No. 2 Eva Alvarez Sande (WSU) def. Lauren Dunlap (UM) 6-1, 6-0
No. 3 Elyse Tse (WSU) def. Maria Goheen (UM) 6-4, 7-6 (6)
No. 4 Fifa Kumhom (WSU) def. Nancy Cabanas (UM) 6-2, 6-1
No. 5 Yang Lee (WSU) def. Shivika Agrawal (UM) 7-5, 3-6, 1-0 (10-2)
No. 6 Stefaniia Mikhailova (WSU) def. Rosie Sterk (UM) 6-3, 6-2
Order of Finish: 1,2,4,3,6,5