WSU tennis is set to match up against Montana in their first traditional action of the 2023 spring season. The team is coming off a rough showing in the Weinman Foundation Invitational hosted at University of Hawaii where they struggled to get anything going in both singles and doubles action. 

Since 2005, the Cougs are 15-0 in matches against the Grizzlies, with their most recent match being a 5-2 victory last season. 

In the 15 matches they have played, the Cougs boast an astonishing point record of 99-6 and last season’s match was the first time in the head-to-head history that Montana won more than one point. 

Eyes are on improvement at the top of the ladder for the Cougs, as last year’s No. 3, Maxine Murphy, is the new presumed top of the table with the departure of two key players from last year’s team in Michaela Bayerlova and Savanna Ly-Nguyen. 

Last season, the Cougs struggled early in Pac-12 play, the next few matches will be vital for second-year head coach Raquel Atawo to avoid those same struggles in this new season. 

WSU should easily run the table against Montana, and if the Cougs can continue to build off of the momentum of big wins down the stretch in 2022, the Atawo-era could see significant improvements in the new year.

The match will be played 10 a.m. Friday at the Simmelink Tennis Courts at Hollingbery Fieldhouse in Pullman.