Washington State Tennis is back as the Cougs kicked off their 2023 fall season last weekend, traveling to Cary, N.C. for the ITA Women’s All-American Championships.

The Cougs sent sophomore Eva Alvarez Sande to compete in the round of singles and junior Elyse Tse to join Alvarez Sande in the round of doubles.

Alvarez Sande started things off for the Cougs on Saturday against the University of Virginia’s Sara Ziodato. Alvarez Sande went on to lose the match 5-7, and 1-6, moving her to the consolation bracket. She bounced back from her loss on Sunday when facing Elizabeth Goldsmith from the University of San Diego. Alvarez Sande posted a 7-5, 1-6, 6-2 win.

Earning a bye after her win, Alvarez Sande is set to face off against Sofia Johnson from Old Dominion University. Currently, the match does not have a start time.

The doubles team of Alvarez Sande and Tse began their tournament run with confidence, being ranked No. 25 in the ITA’s Division l Women’s Doubles Rankings. 

Alvarez Sande and Tse’s first match together in the Qualifying Doubles round was Monday against Maria Ines Fonte and Miyuka Kimoto from Syracuse University. The two Cougs, who were ranked as a top seed, were able to secure an impressive 8-6 victory moving on to the round of 32. 

In the round of 32, the WSU duo faced off against a familiar group from Stanford University. Alvarez Sande and Tse played against Alexandra Yepifanova and Connie Ma just three hours after their first victory. Sadly, the Cougs run ended here as they lost 8-4 concluding their play in the ongoing tournament. 

Looking ahead in the season, the Cougs will see a very similar roster compared to last year with the addition of Freshman Martina Markova from Ingelheim, Germany. Raquel Atawo is back for her third year as the Cougars head coach and is looking to make a statement with her younger group of players.

The Cougs will see their next action Friday as the team will travel to Eugene, Oregon, to compete in the Oregon Fall Tournament.