Fresno State (6-4) vs Washington State (6-2)
Sat. Mar. 2, 2024 | 12 p.m. PT | Stevens Center | Spokane, Wash.
Fresno State (6-4) at Gonzaga (5-6)
Sun. Mar. 3, 2024 | 11 a.m. PT | Stevens Center | Spokane, Wash.
MEDIA COVERAGE
Watch: vs Washington State
Watch: vs Gonzaga
Stats: Live Stats vs Gonzaga
FRESNO, Calif. - Fresno State women's tennis travels up north to face the Washington State Cougars in a neutral site matchup on Saturday at 12 p.m. PT followed by Gonzaga on Sunday morning at 11 a.m. PT. All matches will have live video streaming.
BULLDOG BONES
Fresno State is coming off a win against Cal Poly in another tough match up, 4-3
Carolina Piferi was recently tabbed as MW Player of the Week (Feb. 28)
Piferi holds an 8-1 singles record and 3-0 at flight No. 1
Double-duo Piferi and Eliza Dunbar clinched another win and are 5-0 at flight No. 2
Fresno State has rescheduled their matchup with the University of San Francisco for Mar. 7 and have added Weber State for Mar. 10 at 3 p.m. MT
Bulldogs begin conference play on Mar. 17 to host Utah State at 11 a.m. PT
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Senior Carolina Piferi was recently tabbed as the MW Player of the Week (Feb. 28). Piferi helped the Bulldogs to a 1-1 record on the week with a win over Cal Poly (4-3) and a loss to No. 42 BYU while going 3-0 individually. Against No. 42 BYU's Kaavya Sawhney, earned the first singles point for Fresno State in a straight-sets win at No. 3 (6-2, 6-2). Against Cal Poly's Melissa LaMette and Romane Mosse, logged a No. 2 doubles win (6-4). In No. 1 singles against Cal Poly's Delanie Dunkle, registered a straight-sets victory (6-3, 6-4).
This is Piferi's first MW Weekly honor in her career and is the first Bulldog to be tabbed as Player of the Week this season. Piferi plays strong at No. 1 singles, currently holding a 3-0 record. Piferi has seen only one singles loss at No. 4 at ASU for their first match of the spring.
ABOUT THE MATCHUP
Fresno State will see the Cougars for the 20th time in program history for the first match this weekend. Fresno State leads the all-time series against Washington State, 13-6. The last meeting between the two was in Fresno with the Cougars pulling away with the win, 5-2. Saturday's meeting will make the second neutral meeting in Spokane.
There is brief history between the Bulldogs and the Zags', as they meet for the fifth time in program history. Both programs hold two wins a piece in the series, 2-2. Gonzaga has won the last two meetings.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT - COUGARS
Raquel Atawo is in her third season as head coach of the Cougars after being named to the position July 2, 2021.
Junior Elyse Tse is a team-leading 8-0 in singles play this spring, winning each match in straight sets
Tse and partner Eva Alvarez Sande are 7-1 at the No.1 doubles spot
Sophomore Yura Nakagawa, and seniors Hania Abouelsaad and Fifa Kumhom are all 6-2 in dual matches.
Cougars are coming off a set of back-to-back wins against
Cougars are 2-1 in neutral site meetings
Washington State will face Fresno State as their final non-conference opponent before Pac-12 play begins with UCLA
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT - ZAGS
Gonzaga is led by head coach Natalie Pluskota-Hamberg in her third year
Gonzaga also comes off of back-to-back wins against Utah State (6-1) and Eastern Washington (4-3)
Zags' hold a 3-4 record when playing at the Stevens Center
Emily Robertson has seen seven wins at No. 1 singles, 7-2
Emily Roberston and Ella Nieslen are another strong double pair with a 3-1 record at No. 2 doubles
Zags' have only seen two points from doubles matches this season