Tennis starts 2019 with strong showing in Hawaii
WSU finishes tourney away from home with 18-4 record in singles
GEORGE RODRIGUEZ | DAILY EVERGREEN FILE
Then-junior Tiffany Mylonas strikes the ball in a match against Eastern Washington on Feb. 28 in Hollingbery Fieldhouse.
January 6, 2019
WSU tennis opened its spring season Thursday through Saturday at the Rainbow Wahine Invitational in Honolulu, Hawaii. The invitational was a two-team contest between host University of Hawaii and WSU.
The tournament only kept individual scores. Seven Cougars competed.
The Cougars are coming off a record-breaking season this past year. The team recorded 20 victories for the first time in program history.
WSU faced the Rainbow Warriors in four doubles matches and seven singles Thursday. The teams split the doubles and the Cougars took six of the seven singles matches.
Seniors Aneta Miksovska and Tiffany Mylonas each won their singles matches but lost their doubles match together. Freshman Yang Lee stood out for the Cougars on the first day, capturing her singles and doubles match.
The invitational continued Friday afternoon when WSU faced players from both Hawaii and Hawaii Pacific in singles and doubles matches.
The team’s results were similar to Thursday’s as they only lost one singles match but struggled in doubles, going just 1-3.
Junior Jovana Knezevic made her WSU debut Friday, starting her career with two wins. Knezevic and freshman Savanna Ly-Nguyen both won their singles matches and got the lone doubles win for the Cougars.
Lee lost her doubles match but got another big win for the team in her singles match beating junior Petra Melounova, the No. 51 ranked tennis player in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s preseason rankings.
The Rainbow Wahine Invitational concluded Saturday as the Cougars turned their doubles play around.
WSU won all three doubles contests Saturday, bringing their doubles record to 6-6 for the tournament. The team continued to find success in singles matches, going 18-4 overall for the invitational.
Ly-Nguyen won another singles match to finish 3-0 in the tourney. Junior Melisa Ates also got two wins, capturing her singles and doubles matches.
The Cougars will return home Saturday to face the University of Idaho at noon and Eastern Washington University at 5 p.m. in Hollingbery Fieldhouse.
