Following a two-week break from the action, WSU tennis (7-8, 0-4 Pac-12) looked outmatched in their return to Conference play against two tough opponents. On Friday, the Cougs fell 5-2 against Arizona (14-7, 1-2), then two days later they once again lost to Arizona State (12-3, 2-1), this time by a clean 7-0 sweep.

Without star No. 1 Maxine Murphy, the season for the Cougs looks to be headed in the wrong direction. However, freshman Eva Alvarez Sande has looked quite comfortable in her newfound role despite all the pressure.

Against the Wildcats Friday, Alvarez Sande secured one of the two WSU points with a rather dominant 6-2, 6-0 victory on the first court. Alongside her duo Elyse Tse, they were the only WSU pair of the three to win their match.

To secure the other point against Arizona, No. 4 Fifa Kumhom outlasted her opponent in a  6-3, 1-6, 7-6 (10) victory.

The match against the Sun Devils did not go as positively as that, Alvarez Sande and Tse came out on top against No. 11 ranked duo Patricija Spaka and Domenika Turkovic of Arizona State, 6-3, but ASU still won the majority of doubles play.

In singles action, only a single Coug took the first set of play. Hania Abouelsaad won the first set 4-6 but ultimately lost the next two consecutive sets 6-2, 1-0 (12-10) to take the loss. The only other member of WSU to even take a set was No. 2 Yura Nakagawa who lost her match 6-2, 4-6, 6-4.

In the match against ASU, Alvarez Sande saw a ranked opponent in the top spot. Facing off against No. 113 Chelsea Fontenel, the Spaniard lost  6-2, 6-0.

The Cougs will attempt to right the ship that is the 2023 season at noon Friday when they take on the third-place in Conference Oregon Ducks on the Outdoor Tennis Courts in Pullman.