The WSU Cougars (4-1) are coming off their first loss of 2024 to an impressive Baylor squad. This loss came in the midst of the five game road trip where WSU has now won two of three games. Looking to bounce back, the Cougs traveled to Portland, Oregon where they will finish their road trip against University of Portland and Portland State. 

The Cougs started their weekend against the Portland Pilots (3-2) who have had a decent start in 2024. The match began with doubles where the Pilots got off to a quick start. Yura Nakagawa and Fifa Kumhom put the Cougs up 1-0 with a 6-3 win against Aleksandra Dimitrijevic and Rimona Rouf. WSU would not hold onto their lead for very long as Eva Alvarez Sande and Elyse Tse dropped their match to Sally Pethybridge and Iva Zelic, tying the round at 1-1 with a final match left.

With each team needing the final point to win doubles, Hania Abouelsaad and Martina Markov faced off against Portland’s Alaia Rubio Perez and Meagan Pearson. In a match that went back and forward, Portland would eventually win 6-4, giving the Pilots the opening doubles point.

Going into singles down a point, the Cougs needed to get going but it would take them a second to do so. The first match to conclude put Portland up 2-0 as Nakagawa lost 6-0, 6-3 to Pethybridge. WSU began to turn things around after this loss as Kumhom posted a 6-4, 6-4 victory against Perez. After this, Tse got another singles victory, winning 6-1, 6-1 over Rouf, knotting the overall score at 2-2. Tse, with this win, is now 6-0 in singles play for the Cougs in 2024.

Following Tse’s victory, Alvarez Sande played another back and forth singles match. After winning the first set 6-2, Portland’s Zelic came back with a 7-6 win that could have gone either way. This victory might have been the boost Zelic needed as she won the tiebreaker 7-5, handing Alvarez Sande her second straight loss in singles play and giving Portland a 3-2 lead.

With two matches remaining, WSU tied the score back up thanks to Abouelsaad. After losing her first set 6-1 to Dimitrijevic, Abouelsaad would come back with a 6-3 victory of her own. She won the tiebreaker 6-2, giving life to the Cougs and tying the score 3-3 with one final match left.

The final match of the day was between Portland’s Nadine Arbaizar Martinez, and WSU’s Markov. In a set that saw Markov race to an early 4-0 lead, the same set would see Martinez rally back to 7-6. Riding off the confidence of an impressive comeback, Martinez won the next set 6-4, giving Portland the 4-3 victory over the Cougs. 

With this loss, the Cougs have dropped back-to-back road games, putting them at 4-2 on the year. The Cougs have still shown that they are all in as they are competing down to the last serve. They will look to finish their road trip on a positive note with one final match remaining against Portland State in Beaverton, Oregon.