With so much noise swirling around Washington State athletics this year, including conference realignment, coaching changes and shifting priorities, it’s easy to overlook the quiet success stories. But if you’re looking for the WSU team that delivered the most complete, consistent, and inspiring season in 2024–25, look no further than Cougar tennis.

While the bigger programs dominated headlines, the women’s tennis team went to work and delivered. Under head coach Raquel Atawoin, the Cougars posted their best record in over a decade, finishing the regular season 17–6 and notching several statement wins along the way. More importantly, they won a postseason tournament for the first time ever.

This was not a season powered by a single superstar or a fluky hot streak. It was a full-team effort, built on depth, discipline, and an increasingly strong recruiting pipeline. No. 1 singles player Eva Alvarez Sande emerged as a leader and anchor, regularly taking on top-ranked opponents and holding her own. Junior’s Maxine Murphy and Elyse Tse also broke through in major ways.

But the record only tells part of the story. What makes this tennis season truly special is the context: the uphill climb it took to get here. As WSU grapples with the collapse of the Pac-12 and a new, independent path forward in football and basketball, Olympic sports like tennis have quietly been thrown into limbo. Scheduling is tougher. Travel is longer. Media attention is almost nonexistent. And yet, in the middle of that uncertainty, this team showed up, competed hard, and brought pride to the crimson and gray.

Still, WSU managed to reach the WCC title game, and despite their loss to San Diego State University, they were able to propel their success into an invitation to the National Invitational Tournament, a tournament which saw WSU win three straight matches and claim victory in.

So, looking back on the 2024–25 sports year, the tennis team deserves its flowers. They may not have had the biggest spotlight, but they had the brightest results. And in a year of transition, they reminded us what Cougar spirit really looks like.