On a cold morning in Pullman, the No. 53 Washington State women’s tennis team went in swinging in a 6-1 victory over Boise State at Hollingbery Fieldhouse on Saturday. With the win, the undefeated Cougars (3-0) match their best start to a season since 2012.

The Cougars also extended their match win streak against the Broncos (2-1) to four, dating back to 2010, according to wsucougars.com. Head Coach Lisa Hart said the team fought a tough battle against a familiar foe.

“I was very proud of our overall effort,” Hart said. “We fought very hard early, and it changed the match going forward.”

The Cougars began the day with strong play in doubles action. The team earned wins in two of the three doubles matches against the Broncos, and continued their impressive play in doubles action to begin the season.

The No.1 doubles combination of senior Elizaveta Luzina and junior Lize Leenknecht set the tone early for the Cougars. Luzina and Leenknecht defeated Boise State freshman Naomi de Hart and sophomore Milena Toseva 6-1 to continue their undefeated record so far this season in doubles play.

The No. 2 doubles combination of sophomore Victoria Matejevic and freshman Donika Bashota also continued their undefeated play in 2015. Matejevic and Bashota defeated Boise State senior Sammie Watson and junior Bobbi Oshiro 6-2 to clinch the doubles point for the Cougars.

Bashota said the team’s strong play in doubles action builds confidence going forward.

“It’s important to win from the beginning,” Bashota said. “It’ll make it easier to improve and get better before our next match.”

In singles action, the Cougars continued to put their foot on the gas with strong play on all courts. The team earned wins in five out of six singles matches against the Broncos.

Luzina and Leenknecht continued their strong play in their singles matches. Luzina defeated BSU junior Teal Vosburgh 6-1, 6-3, while Leenknecht defeated BSU Arianna Paules Aldrey 6-1, 6-3 to build momentum for the Cougars.

“Even though we won on Thursday, we weren’t satisfied,” Luzina said. “We stepped up and it was a better overall performance today both for the team and individually.”

WSU junior Maria Biryukova moved to 4-0 in singles play this season by rallying from a set down to defeat BSU’s Toseva 4-6, 7-6 (3), 6-1 to clinch the match for the Cougars.

The theme of resiliency continued for the Cougars when WSU’s Bashota rallied from a set down to defeat BSU’s Oshiro 4-6, 6-3, 6-3.

The Broncos earned their lone win in singles play when BSU junior Megan LaLone defeated WSU’s Matejevic 6-2, 6-0 to close the match.

Coach Hart said it’s important to take advantage of opportunities to compete at home in front of the Cougar-faithful.

“It’s huge to protect our home court,” Hart said. “Especially when we play non-conference matches, we need to win as many as we can to make the postseason.”

The team will look to continue their undefeated start to the season when they compete in an all-day tripleheader on Friday, Jan. 30 at Hollingbery Fieldhouse. The Cougars will compete against Montana at 11 a.m., Portland State at 2:30 p.m., and Eastern Washington at 6 p.m.