Hart notches 200th victory at WSU

Cougars improved to 19-2 this season to tie record for most victories in a year in program history

GEORGE RODRIGUEZ | THE DAILY EVERGREEN

Senior Barbora Michalkova makes contact with the ball to keep a rally going during her match against Colorado on Sunday.

RYAN MOSHER, Evergreen reporter

Cougar tennis defeated the University of Colorado, Boulder, 4-0 Sunday in Hollingbery Fieldhouse to keep their undefeated home record intact.

The win marked the 200th victory for WSU Head Coach Lisa Hart.

Hart said she felt the achievement was a testament to the athletes she has coached.

“It’s a credit to all the players I’ve had over the years, and obviously match day is all about them performing, so it’s more their deal than mine,” Hart said, “but it’s exciting.”

WSU is now 19-2 on the season, tying a program-best for victories that was also achieved in 1994 and 2012 under Hart.

Hart said the Cougars’ success this season is due to the players on the court.

“Last year on the road we lost two heart-breakers to Colorado and Utah 4-3, came down to the final match in both matches,” Hart said. “It’s a testament to all the work our players have put in, and to win like we did this weekend just says a lot about our team and how we have progressed over the last 12 months.”

Junior Tiffany Mylonas, who clinched the match with her singles victory, said Hart is very humble and always finds the lighter side of things.

“She is the best coach,” Mylonas said. “She is always positive, never negative, even if we lose she is going to find something positive.”

Mylonas played a big role in the victory over the Buffaloes by clinching the doubles point for the Cougars along with her playing partner sophomore Guzal Yusupova.

Mylonas said her doubles partnership with Yusupova, which has produced a 16-1 record this season, is due to a shared on-the-court mentality and a relationship off the court.

“We are really good friends and we have the same mentality,” Mylonas said. “We both are grinders and winners … we belong to each other.”

Cougar tennis has five matches left to play in the regular season with three being away from Pullman.

Hart said they are all crucial and the team needs to refocus to be prepared for the difficulty of playing on the road.

WSU will continue Pac-12 play against two teams in the desert. The Cougars will take on Arizona State University at 1:30 p.m. Friday in Tempe and then make a short trip south to Tucson to battle University of Arizona at noon Saturday.

Coach Hart said the dry Arizona heat will challenge her team.

“It’s a tough place to play. To be honest I don’t know if we’ve ever won there,” Hart said, “There’s just some things we’re not really used to on a daily basis that we’re going to have to figure out really quick.”