BOX SCORE | SEASON STATS

PALO ALTO, Calif. (SMU) – SMU women's tennis dropped another close match, falling to Washington State 4-3 in the opening round of the ITA Kick-Off Weekend at Stanford's Taube Family Tennis Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

The duo of junior Tiffany Hollebeck and senior Karina Traxler continued their hot streak in doubles, winning their fifth straight match over Michaela Bayerlova and Aneta Miksovska 6-1. The pair is now 6-1 this season, while Traxler individually has been a part of a team-high 12 doubles wins.

Seniors Vivienne Kulicke and Ana Perez-Lopez wrapped up the doubles point for the Mustangs, defeating Melisa Ates and Yang Lee in a tiebreak, 7-6 (2).

Kulicke and Perez-Lopez each won their singles matches to give SMU a 3-0 lead. First, Kulicke beat Hikaru Sato at the No. 2 position, 6-2, 6-3. Kulicke holds a team-best 13-4 singles record. Perez-Lopez extended the Mustang lead at No. 4 with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Savanna Ly-Nguyen.

Senior Liza Buss battled with No. 83 Bayerlova, but ultimately fell 6-2, 6-3. The Cougars won three-set matches on Courts 3, 5 and 6 to close out the match.

The Mustangs close out the ITA Kick-Off Weekend against St. Mary's on Sunday at 4 p.m.

Washington State 4, SMU 3 (Jan. 26, 2019)
DOUBLES
1) Mylonas/Sato (WSU) def. Buss/Shapovalova (SMU) 6-4
2) Kulicke/Perez-Lopez (SMU) def. Ates/Lee (WSU) 7-6 (2)
3) Hoellebeck/Traxler (SMU) def. Bayerlova/Miksovska (WSU) 6-1
Order of Finish: 3, 1, 2

SINGLES
1) No. 83 Michaela Bayerlova (WSU) def. Liza Buss (SMU) 6-2, 6-3
2) Vivienne Kulicke (SMU) def. Hikaru Sato (WSU) 6-2, 6-3
3) Tiffany Mylonas (WSU) def. Anzhelika Shapovalova (SMU) 6-1, 1-6, 6-4
4) Ana Perez-Lopez (SMU) def. Savanna Ly-Nguyen (WSU) 6-2, 6-4
5) Yang Lee (WSU) def. Karina Traxler (SMU) 6-7 (3), 6-3, 6-4
6) Aneta Miksovska (WSU) def. Katherine Jakeway (SMU) 6-4, 4-6, 6-1
Order of Finish: 2, 4, 1, 3, 6, 5