PULLMAN, Wash. -- Eastern Washington University's women's tennis team traveled to the Palouse to play the first dual match in the 2017 regular season against Washington State. The Eagles fell 7-0 to the Cougars.
"We played a tough team today, but we had awesome energy and came in ready to play," head coach Dustin Hinson said. "We lost a lot of big points and that just was the major difference."
In singles action, No. 1 sophomore Faye Worrall fell to WSU's Guzal Yusupova 6-3, 6-4. Junior Rachel Swindell fell to Barbora Michalkova 6-1, 6-2. Seniors Erin Blessing and Carolina Lopez both fell to their opponents 6-2, 6-3. Freshmen Marta Heinen and Valentina Sottile also debuted their first dual match of their careers, both falling to their competition.
In doubles, Worrall and Blessings teamed up as the No. 1 team and fell to WSU's Yusupova and Barbora Michalkova, 6-1. Swindell and Heinen teamed up for the second team in doubles competition but did not finish the match. Domingo and Lopez partnered up for the third team in doubles, falling 6-0.
"I'm proud of the composure, grit, and energy we showed on the court today," Hinson added. "We showed a never-say-die mentality and we improved our performances throughout the match. We didn't come through in some key moments when we had those windows of opportunity.When you're playing this caliber of competition, capitalizing on those big moments is key for our success. It's not going to get any easier for us in the next few weeks but we are looking forward to continuing to progress as athletes and as individuals."
The Eagles will continue their regular season when they pick up play against Oregon on Jan. 21.
SINGLES
No. 1 Guzal Yusupova (WSU) def. Faye Worrall (EWU) 6-3, 6-4
No. 2 Barbara Michalkova (WSU) def. Rachel Swindell (EWU) 6-1, 6-2
No. 3 Victoria Matejevic (WSU) def. Erin Blessing (EWU) 6-2, 6-3
No. 4 Lejla Colic (WSU) def. Carolina Lopez (EWU) 6-2, 6-3
No. 5 Melisa Ates (WSU) def. Marta Heinen (EWU) 6-0, 6-2
No. 6 Ege Tomey (WSU) def. Valentina Sottile (EWU) 6-1, 6-3
DOUBLES
No. 1 Yusupova/Michalkova (WSU) def. Worrall/Blessing (EWU) 6-1
No. 2 Colic/Miksovska (WSU) vs. Swindell/Heinen (EWU) 5-2, DNF
No. 3 Ates/Matejevic (WSU) def. Domingo/Lopez (EWU) 6-0
