The No. 47 ranked Washington State women’s tennis team earned another win on its season yesterday with a 6-0 victory against the No. 70 ranked Denver Pioneers.

“They have found ways all season to win when we are supposed to,” WSU tennis Head Coach Lisa Hart said. “It can be difficult to find ways to win against the teams we are supposed to beat and the teams that are looking to beat us. We didn’t play our best tennis today, but we played the big points well and found a way to win.”

In doubles play, Denver (9-8) claimed the first with a win at No.2 when Pioneers freshman Maureen Slattery and sophomore Kathryn Hughes defeated WSU sophomore Maria Biryukova and senior Olga Musilovich 8-4. WSU fought back with wins at No. 1 and No. 3 when junior Elizaveta Luzina and sophomore Lize Leenknecht defeated Pioneer freshman Sonja Radosevic and senior Natalie Dunn 8-7 (7-5) at No. 1.

At No. 3, WSU junior Charlotte Koning and sophomore Dajana Ognjenovic defeated Denver senior Caroline Schnell and junior Michelle Garpenlov 8-7 (7-5). WSU went on to take the doubles point.

In singles play, the Cougars swept the Pioneers in every match. At No. 1, Luzina was ahead of Slattery 6-4, 5-0 before Slattery had to retire due to injury. At No. 2, Biryukova defeated Schnell 6-2, 3-6, 6-1. At No. 3, Leenknecht triumphed against Denver’s Radosevic 3-6, 6-0, 6-3. At No. 4, Musilovich defeated Hughes 6-0, 6-0.

“Our number 1 doubles team of Luzina and Leenknecht dug themselves a hole in the beginning of their doubles match but fought back to find a way to win and secure the doubles point for the team,” Hart said.

At No. 5, Koning was victorious against Denver’s Evy Van Genechten 6-3, 6-2. The No. 6 match did not finish as WSU had claimed the victory beforehand.

“Our rhythm and preparation was a bit thrown off with a mid-week match,” Hart said. “I was impressed with the way our players found ways to win on every court. I think teams learn how good they really are when they can win and perform on their bad days.”

With a win against Denver, the Cougars are now 17-8 (2-5) on the season and will be back in action on Saturday with two matches at the outdoor tennis courts in Pullman. No. 6 California and No. 7 Stanford will be in town for a Pac-12 showdown.

“We are excited to have two more opportunities against top-10 nationally ranked opponents,” Hart said. “To play them at home is an awesome opportunity. Our players are excited about the challenge.”