April 21, 2008

Pullman, WA (UWIRE) -- The No. 42-ranked WSU tennis team sent its seniors out on a winning note as the Cougars defeated the Washington Huskies on Saturday at Hollingbery Fieldhouse. Playing in front of the largest crowd of the season, the Cougars came from behind to defeat the No. 34-ranked Huskies 4-3.

"I couldn't be more proud," head coach Lisa Hart said. "It's been a total team effort all season long." UW (12-9) came out strong in doubles play to earn the first point, taking all three matches from WSU (16-9). The Huskies then added to their lead when Joyce Ardies swept Aleksandra Cekic 6-2, 6-2.

That's when the Cougars turned to career wins leader Ekaternia Burduli.

Burduli, the senior from Tel Aviv, Israel, faced off against UW's Venise Chan, a freshman ranked No. 30 in the country. Burduli blasted Chan 6-1 in the first set, but Chan bounced back to push the second set into a tie-breaker. Burduli regained command, however, pulling off the upset 6-1, 7-6 (3). It was her 91st career win and her record-tying 28th regular season victory, tying Erin Majury's total from the 1983 season.

The day was full of nail-biting matches, as Aleksandra Stefanova defeated Aleksandra Malovic, 7-6 (8), 6-2 in another close match and brought the score to 2-2. Then Ekaterina Kamendova downed Washington's Tara Simpson 6-1, 4-6, 7-5. It was Kamendova's 20th victory of the season. Husky Allison Rainey tied the score up at 3-3 as she topped Marina Nicolas, 6-3, 6-1. The match came down to WSU's Bianca Selaru and UW's Kelsey Anonsen. Selaru quickly won the first set 6-1, but Anonsen wasn't going to make it easy, forcing a 5-5 tie in the second set. Selaru grabbed the final two points, making it a 6-1, 7-5 win. The match sealed the victory for the Cougars over state rival Washington, pushing the WSU advantage to 6-4 in head-to-head varsity competition during the 2007-08 school year. It also sent the seniors out on a winning note.

WSU tennis finished out its season with a 16-9 overall record and 2-6 in Pac-10 play. The 16 wins were the the most victories since the 1995-96 season. Next, the Cougars will compete in the Pac-10 tournament April 24-27.

WSU tennis team seniors

Ekaterina Burduli Hometown: Tel Aviv, Israel Overall season record: 28-9 Major: psychology

Kara Konomos Hometown: Auburn, Wash.

Overall season record: 1-3 Major: business

Aleksandra Stefanova Hometown: Skopje, Macedonia Overall season record: 20-14 Major: hospitality business management

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