SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Senior Palina Saulevich helped the Sacramento State women's tennis complete the comeback from being down 3-1, defeating Washington State's Ava-Monet Sycamore in three sets on Friday afternoon and lifting the host Hornets to a 4-3 win over the Cougars at the Sacramento State Tennis Complex on campus.
In winning its second consecutive dual, Sacramento State improved to 3-2 overall on the season, earning its first win over the Cougars since 2012 in the first meeting between the two programs on the court since 2013. Washington State suffered its first loss of the year, falling to 2-1.
The Hornets had their collective backs against the wall after Washington State took a hotly contested doubles point and posted wins at No. 2 and No. 4 singles around a victory by Reese Walker at the top spot. Walker defeated the Cougars' Maxine Murphy in straight sets, 6-2, 6-2.
Freshman Cami Maldonado Gutierrez was the next off the court for Sacramento State as the newcomer improved to 4-1 in her young career with a straight-set win over Chisato Kanemaki, 7-5, 6-4, at the No. 5 position.
Junior Lou Baudouin then tied the match at three apiece with a three-set marathon victory over Yura Nakagawa at the No. 3 position, opening with a 6-2 win in the first set and closing out the match with a 7-5 victory in the third after dropping the second set, 6-1. The victory kept Baudouin undefeated in singles on the year at 4-0 — three of those wins coming at the No. 3 spot in the lineup.
That turned all eyes onto the court at No. 6, where Saulevich staved off elimination with a 7-6 (5) second-set win in a tiebreaker against Sycamore after dropping the first set, 6-2. The senior then locked down the victory with a dominating third set, closing out the Cougars with a 6-1 triumph in the third.
Sacramento State had its match on Sunday (Feb. 8) against Santa Clara moved to later in the year (April 7) and next takes the court with a recent addition to the slate on Monday (Feb. 9), traveling to the Bay Area to take on No. 11 Stanford at 1 p.m.
NCAA WOMEN'S TENNIS
Sacramento State 4, Washington State 3
Feb. 6, 2026 // Sacramento, Calif. (Sacramento State Tennis Complex)
DOUBLES
1. Chisato Kanemaki / Maxine Murphy (WSU) def. Cami Maldonado Gutierrez / Irene Riva (SAC), 7-5
2. Eva Alvarez Sande / Yura Nakagawa (WSU) def. Palina Saulevich / Reese Walker (SAC), 6-2
3. Lou Baudouin / Emilija Pranyte (SAC) def. Ava-Monet Sycamore / Martina Puvill (WSU), 6-1
Order of finish: 3, 2, 1*
SINGLES
1. Reese Walker (SAC) def. Maxine Murphy (WSU), 6-2, 6-2
2. Eva Alvarez Sande (WSU) def. Irene Riva (SAC), 7-5, 6-2
3. Lou Baudouin (SAC) def. Yura Nakagawa (WSU), 6-2, 1-6, 7-5
4. Martina Puvill (WSU) def. Emilija Pranyte (SAC), 6-4, 6-4
5. Cami Maldonado Gutierrez (WSU) def. Chisato Kanemaki (SAC), 7-5, 6-4
6. Palina Saulevich (SAC) def. Ava-Monet Sycamore (WSU), 2-6, 7-6 (5), 6-1
Order of finish: 1, 2, 4, 5, 3, 6*
