Huskies Post Pair of 7-0 Wins to Wrap Up Weekend

Sunday, January 12

Seattle, WA

12:00 PM

University of Washington

Eastern Washington

Photo by: Jamie Mitchell

January 12, 2020 | Women's Tennis

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 UW vs EWU Box Score (PDF)UW vs SU Box Score (PDF)

SEATTLE --- No. 14 Washington closed out its opening weekend with a pair of dominating 7-0 wins over Eastern Washington and Seattle U on Sunday afternoon at the Nordstrom Tennis Center.

The Huskies improve to 3-0 on the young season losing just one set through the first three matches of the year, but winning all 21 matches thus far.

Against Eastern Washington, the Huskies got off to a quick start by taking a pair of doubles matches to clinch the first point early on. Katarina Kopcalic and Sedona Gallagher cruised to a 6-1 win at No. 2 while Nika Zupancic and Zoey Weil clinched the point with a 6-2 win at No. 3.

In singles, the Huskies had five matches finish within a matter of minutes of each other to clinch the match. Gallagher was the first off with a 6-2, 6-0 win at No. 4, followed closely thereafter by Weil winning 6-2, 6-1 at No. 6. Kopcalic clinched the match with a 6-0, 6-1 win at No. 3 which was followed quickly by a 6-2, 6-2 win by Vanessa Wong on court two.

Nika Zupancic followed a minute later with a 6-0, 6-1 win at No. 5 and Natsuho Arakawa wrapped up the match with a 6-4, 6-2 win on court one.

Washington cruised to the doubles point with a pair of victories against Seattle U in the second match. Gallagher and Kopcalic again were the first off with a 6-1 won at No. 2. The No. 3 team of Zupancic and Weil clinched the point with a 6-2 victory.

The Huskies continued to play strong in singles with Gallagher dominating her match at No. 4 as she improved to 3-0 with a 6-0, 6-0 win. Weil followed that with a 6-0, 6-1 win on five for her first collegiate dual victory and Wong clinched the match with a 6-0, 6-2 win at No. 1.

Rounding out the day, Kopcalic picked up an easy 6-1, 6-3 win. At No. 3 Arakawa battled back from a 4-2 deficit in the first to win 6-4, then cruised to a 6-2 win in the second to take her match. Abbey Watanabe, who was playing in her first singles match in dual play this year, rounded out the day with a hard-fought 6-0, 6-7 (4), 1-0 (10-7) win at No. 6. It was her first collegiate dual victory.

"It was a good and productive weekend for everyone," said Gallagher. "I think everyone got a lot of repetition in and a lot of match play which is good going into season. It's nice to play different people as opposed to practicing against your own team. Our next matches will definitely be tough, but I think this was a good precursor, build some confidence and get a lot of practice in point situations."

"Everyone got to go out and play a match today which is exciting," said Vanessa Wong. "Having this under our belt gets some of the rustiness out. Everyone has stuff to work on, but we are in a good place and we can build on this for sure. The teams we are playing in Hawaii next week are tough and this will prepare us a lot!"

"What was great today was we had three girls with their first dual match wins this weekend for the Huskies with Ashley (Chang), Zoey and Abbey today," said UW Head Coach Robin Stephenson. "Those experiences are so great for them and cool for the program."

"The thing that I like the most is that our mindset is in the right place," said Stephenson. "The girls are competing the right way, they are all working hard and are united, so I think the way we are starting the season is great. I saw a lot of good things this weekend."

Washington hits the road this week, playing a pair of matches in Hawaii. The Huskies take on Hawaii on Wednesday at 5:00 p.m. PT before facing No. 16 Florida State in Hawaii on Friday at Noon PT.