Over the course of Friday and Saturday, WSU tennis (2-2, 0-0 Pac-12) played in two matches in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Kickoff Weekend hosted in Virginia.

The Cougs first played No. 8 Virginia and after losing, they faced off against Northwestern on Saturday.

On Friday, the Cougs lost their first match of the season against the ranked Virginia Cavaliers (3-0, 0-0 Atlantic Coast) 4-1. The team showed heart but had little go their way against such a tough opponent.

In doubles action, all three WSU pairs lost to their opposition. Maxine Murphy and Eva Alvarez Sande lost 6-4 and the duos of Fifa Kumhom/Yura Nakagawa and Elyse Tse/Hania Abouelsaad both fell 6-3.

In singles action, the lone bright spot shone brightly as Murphy took on a ranked opponent and came out on top. Murphy, at the No. 1 spot, faced off against No. 34 Julia Adams of Virginia and, after losing the first set, won two straight. The final line was 2-6, 6-2, 6-3 and it proved that Murphy truly is one of the best competitors in the Pac-12 as a sophomore.

In the second match of the weekend, the Cougs took on Northwestern (3-2, 0-0 Big 10) after their loss to South Carolina. After the Cougs took two out of three of the doubles matches to take a 1-0 lead into singles action, they lost four straight to lose the match overall 4-1.

Murphy and Alvarez Sande won 7-5 in doubles and Tse and Lee also won by a final score of 6-3. Then, in singles action, Kumhom lost a tough battle 6-7 (7), 6-2, 6-2. Alvarez Sande lost to No. 54 ranked Christina Hand 6-2, 6-2, Tse lost 6-4, 6-2 and Stefaniia Mikhailova fell 6-4, 6-0.

Despite not finishing, Murphy had overcome a first-set loss and was deep into her match that ended with the 3-6, 7-5, 2-4.

Next up for the Cougs, they head on the road to take on BYU at 11 a.m. Saturday at the Indoor Tennis Courts in Provo, Utah.