CHENEY, Wash. — Eastern Washington women's tennis started the road to the 2026 Big Sky Tournament strong today with a conference-opening win at home. Eastern defeated Montana State, 4-3, at the Jim Thorpe Fieldhouse, winning four singles matches. 

"I'm just super proud of the fight of this team that we have this year," head coach Dustin Hinson said. "We started out the match pretty tight and weren't playing well in doubles; we were just a bit flat. When we got to singles, the team really believed in what we could do there. We've been working really hard and I could just tell in our huddle, after doubles, that our fight wasn't over. We believed that we could come in and get four of those six singles matches. I'm very proud of our resilience and it's just never say die from the team. We have that find-a-way attitude that we've been displaying on the court; I'm excited about a good start to the conference season."

The Bobcats swept doubles to start with a 1-0 advantage in the match. 

Leandra Nizetic quickly tied the match up after dominating Anna Wise at No. 1 singles in two sets. Veronika Gayevyk put the Eagles up 2-1 after winning at No. 4, earning a three-set win over MSU's Terezie Stverakova. 

The Bobcats pushed ahead with singles wins at No. 3 and No. 2.

Aneliss Zamfirescu tied the match against for EWU, defeating Elle Middleton at No. 6 in two sets. 

The match came down to No. 5 as Olivia Marais faced Lola Bean. The two battled in set one, with Marais clinching a 7-5 win. Marais sensed victory for Eastern and swept the second set 6-0 to clinch the match for the Eagles. 

"What's great about this team is that they don't let those tough moments keep them down," Hinson explained. "They figure out a way, whether it's their energy or the fight they have. They have belief and confidence that they built this season to come out, finish strong, and turn things around. I'm really proud of the team's effort. It's the kind of mindset I want them to carry into the match against Montana on Sunday." 

Results
Singles
No. 1 Leandra Nizetic (EWU) def. Anna Wise (MSU) 6-1, 6-2
No. 2 Nia Gelashvili (MSU) def. Anait Arutiunian(EWU) 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (7-4)
No. 3 Angel Bean (MSU) def. Zoe Pradel (EWU) 6-3, 6-2
No. 4 Veronika Gayevyk (EWU) def. Terezie Stverakova (MSU) 3-6, 6-3, 7-5
No. 5 Olivia Marais (EWU) def. Lola Bean (MSU) 7-5, 6-0
No. 6 Aneliss Zamfirescu (EWU) def. Elle Middleton (MSU) 6-2, 6-2

Doubles
No. 1 Anna Wise / Terezie Stverakova (MSU) def. Olivia Marais / Zoe Pradel (EWU) 7-5
No. 2 Angel Bean / Nia Gelashvili (MSU) def. Anait Arutiunian / Veronika Gayevyk (EWU) 6-1
No. 3 Lola Bean / Kavya Khirwar (MSU) def. Maria Lopez / Leandra Nizetic (EWU) 6-1

Up Next
Eastern stays at the Jim Thorpe Fieldhouse  and hosts Montana on Sunday (March 8) at 10 a.m.
 

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Eastern Washington University Athletics sponsors 14 intercollegiate sports, six for men and eight for women, both as learning opportunities for its most athletically talented students and as an enhancement to student and community life. Eastern is affiliated with Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and is a member of the Big Sky Conference, an association of 10 regional schools with comparable enrollments and academic goals.

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