November 03, 2026 | Men's Tennis, Women's Tennis
SEATTLE – When they first started playing doubles together in practice in early September, Soham Purohit and Jan Chlodnicki couldn't even beat some of their own University of Washington men's tennis teammates.
By the middle of October, they were regularly beating duos from other schools.
Marina Markina and Nela Jandova paired up for the first time at a mid-September season-opening women's tourney in Boise and won all three matches.
By the middle of October, they were still winning.
Draw up a list of the biggest surprise national tournament qualifiers, and these two Husky tandems might be pretty close to the top of it. Yet here they are heading a group of regional titlists that includes Purohit and Chlodnicki, one of the top 32 men's teams, and the Markina-Jandova combo, one of the top 32 women's teams for the NCAA Individual Championships.
The tournament is Nov. 17-22 in Athens, Georgia.
"I think it's always awesome to see all the top programs and the top schools," said Purohit, a senior who went to the NCAA singles tournament last season for the Huskies. "When you get there, you feel like you belong there. You get to that level and you're playing against a top-32 doubles team — it's surreal, in a way."
Chlodnicki, a freshman, can only imagine what it will be like to compete there.
"It's going to be a great tournament and a great opportunity to compete at the highest level," he said. "We're both very excited, and the coach is probably also very excited with us."
That would be UW men's coach Rahim Esmail ... and yes, he is.
"It's a mixture of being excited to compete against the best competition but also knowing that this is how the other teams look at you, as well," Esmail said. "You've earned your spot here. These guys can go into this tournament with no pressure. There's not a result that we've put on the table where it's 'This is what we're happy with,' or 'This is what we're not happy with.'
"I'll be happy if they work hard in the days and weeks leading up to it, go out there, put their best foot forward and see what results they get out of it."
Markina and Jandova, who took considerably different paths to Washington, are still wrapping their heads around the opportunity in front of them later this month.
"We're just excited to go to see how we do and see how far we can get," Markina said, "and see how good we can get to be as a doubles pair."
Added Jandova, "It's a big tournament. I'm excited to see a new tennis place, and we'll just try our best."
Washington head coach Robin Stephenson is still savoring what junior transfer Markina and freshman Jandova have accomplished barely more than a month into their careers on Montlake – in particular, winning the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Regional title on Oct. 12 at Stanford.
They were the first Husky women's doubles team ever to pull off that feat.
"That was news to me," Stephenson said. "That was really cool to have a new pair do that. For them to qualify for the NCAAs a month into them being part of the program is pretty awesome and unique. For them and for our whole team, we just want to be better every day and compete our best every day.
"We're not going (into NCAAs) with no expectations, but just kind of having this mentality of playing one point at a time and seeing what they can do. They have the ability to do very well."
MEN: CLOSE TO HOME – AND FAR FROM HOME
As a kid just across the bridge in Kirkland, where he graduated from Lake Washington High School, Soham Purohit always wanted to play for U-Dub.
It just took him a little extra time to get there.
"Growing up, you meet all the guys who are playing here and you look up to them all the time," the 21-year-old informatics major said. "I had an injury late in my junior (tennis) career and didn't have enough results to kind of go to a really good program initially. Since I started playing better in college at Purdue (as a freshman during the 2023-24 season) and playing high in the lineup, I kept thinking, 'What would it be like to play near home with all my family and friends around?'
"Once that became a reality, I kind of hit a little bit of an obvious answer of how fun it would be, even not knowing (a lot about) the program initially. But I knew it was going to be a lot of fun."
After going 16-11 in singles and 7-14 in doubles at Purdue, Purohit's first season as a Husky in 2024-25 ended with a 21-8 singles record, an 10-10 mark in No. 2 doubles with Nedim Suko and factored into Washington reaching the NCAA Tournament.
Last season as a junior was even better: a 22-9 singles record (all at No. 1), the ITA Northwest Regional singles title (UW's first since 2002) and a trip to the NCAAs. He also went 17-9 in No. 1 doubles with Brett Pearson.
Purohit says a key to those win totals, whether playing doubles or singles, is simply to focus on what got him ahead in the first place.
"It's about figuring out what's working rather than thinking about what's going wrong," he said. "Whatever feels wrong, you want to fix it right away. But it's like when my forehand is working, I lean into that a little bit more. As I start to get into a match and get a good feel of what's not working that day, then I work around that and work through it as the match progresses. Against some opponents, you can get away with not having all the shots in the tool box. But sometimes, you have to have a few more."
When those shots are coming in doubles, so much the better for Purohit.
"I always say I like playing doubles more, no matter what," he said. "It's a lot more enjoyable for me having a partner out there — it takes a little bit of the stress out of the match. You can figure it out with a partner — and if you don't figure it out, there's someone to laugh with you."
This fall, that partner has been 18-year-old Chlodnicki, who came almost 5,300 miles from his home in Opole, Poland to Seattle.
"I wanted to play tennis and pursue academics on a high level," said Chlodnicki, who is leaning toward majoring in finance. "I saw how the program works here, decided to come here and develop here, and it's great. The level is high, and overall, I like it."
THEIR CHEMISTRY KEPT COMING
While he was still getting adjusted to his new surroundings, Chlodnicki found himself paired up with Purohit during the early-season practice sessions.
It took a little bit, but as things gradually started to click, "We saw that it's working well and decided to stick with that," Chlodnicki said.
Esmail was more than willing to be patient with the process.
"It was good to have an experienced upperclassman (Purohit) with our youngest freshman," he said. "We feel both guys have very good individual doubles skills. But as a team, you never know what you're going to get out of it until you start putting it together."
Never was that more evident than during the ITA Northwest Regionals on Oct. 16-20 at UW's Nordstrom Tennis Center — a stretch of five matches in four days ...
... and for the Purohit-Chlodnicki combo, five wins. Of those, three went to a tiebreaker: 8-7 against Santa Clara in the round of 16, 8-7 against California in the quarterfinals, and 6-2, 7-6 against Stanford in the semifinals.
"Our ability to play the big points was important," Chlodnicki said. "We were winning most of the big points, deciding points, break points."
Their one ITA match that wasn't close was the final. Purohit and Chlodnicki were up 6-2, 4-0 against Portland State's Mass Schotanus and Aariun Pandit when an injury to one of the Vikings brought the contest to an early conclusion.
It wasn't the customary way to win a title, but Purohit felt that he and Chlodnicki were nevertheless playing in championship form, especially as they got into their groove after the first few games of the opening set.
"When you start out the match and it's a final, there's all these emotions that go with it – you're playing for an NCAA spot," Purohit said. "We just tried to focus on what we were doing right in the previous matches: We were returning the ball and getting a lot of volleys at the net, where we feel like we have our strength."
From Esmail's point of view, that was true of their performance together for the entire tournament.
"Normally, tougher matches are later on. These guys had a tougher time at the beginning of the tournament," he said. "They were on their heels in the second round (against Santa Clara). They were able to make one or two adjustments as a team mid-match, which really helped them in that moment. … Getting through that match let them kind of relax and trust their game and let them do some things and trust some things with themselves a little more moving forward."
Esmail also trusted himself that Purohit and Chlodnicki could become a top-caliber combination.
"The first time they played, Jan had been here two or three weeks. They were still just getting to know each other as people, let alone as doubles partners," he said. "I think we knew we had something from the start. You have to be patient as a coach and show them that you're willing to work with them and let them go through a few bumps and give them an opportunity to grow as a team and with each other."
WOMEN: SOMETIMES, IT JUST CLICKS
For Marina Markina, making choices – often on the fly – is one of the best parts about playing doubles.
"Singles is more interesting; there are more decisions to make, but you have more time to make a decision," the 19-year-old junior said. "You can think more. In doubles, I'm having more fun. There's a lot less pressure. And the game is very fast, which I like. You have to make decisions really fast in doubles."
The first decision that Markina and 19-year-old freshman partner Jandova had to deal with came when there were simply no other options. For the season-opening Barb Chandler Classic in Boise, they were the only two Huskies healthy enough to make the trip. A select group of their teammates was across the country at the ITA All-American Championships in Cary, North Carolina.
But rather than becoming a one-time thing because of the unusual circumstances, it turned out to be the start of something special … and successful. In addition to going 3-0 in doubles, Jandova won all three of her singles matches and Markina won two of her three in singles.
"It felt great together," Markina said. "The connection on the court was great, so we just continued."
Coach Robin Stephenson saw that connection, too.
"I thought, 'OK, they're pretty good.' We saw some good things," coach Robin Stephenson said. "It wasn't like I had some vision that they would be amazing together. But as we put them together, we realized that their styles and personalities really complement each other well, and it turned into a good thing."
The Chandler was the only tournament before for Markina and Jandova headed to Stanford for the ITA Regionals on Oct. 8-12.
They opened with an 8-5 victory against a Stanford team in the round of 32, then recorded 8-6 wins against Oregon in the round of 16 and Gonzaga in the quarterfinals.
That brought them to a semifinal showdown against Oregon's Hinata Furutani and Juliet Santitto. The Husky duo pulled it out, 6-4, 7-6.
The final against Santa Clara's Priya Nelson and Stella Remander was even tighter. Markina and Jandova dropped the first set, 6-4, but came back for a 6-3 win in the second. That forced a 10-point tiebreaker, and Washington prevailed, 10-8.
"It felt amazing," Markina said. "We didn't go in there expecting to win – we just played and had fun together. We just went match by match and won the whole thing."
Added Jandova, "It was close (in the tiebreaker), and to be honest, I don't remember that much about it. I remember the last point – it was really chaotic."
Right from the start, Markina and Jandova have been a quintessential fire-and-ice combination on the court.
"Marina is really good at the net. I feel like she's the more active player. And then me from the baseline when I play well, it's a good combination," Jandova said.
There's also the mental side of that fire-and-ice style.
"I'm trying to bring more energy, and she calms me down," Markina said. "We balance each other out. I think it's also just about the fun and enjoying it and not putting extra pressure on."
FROM HALF A WORLD AWAY TO SEATTLE
Markina hails from Riga, Latvia, and spent her freshman and sophomore seasons (2024-25 and 25-26) at Old Dominion in Norfolk, Virginia. She went 28-15 in singles (20-7 as a sophomore) and 26-22 in doubles through those two seasons.
She then transferred to Washington. But initially, Markina wasn't sure she would play college tennis at all.
"I wasn't planning on going to the U.S. and I didn't know anything about U.S. college tennis," she said. "Back at home, they were saying, 'If you're going to the U.S., you're basically not going pro.' That was my mentality. But then, listening to more players from other colleges, I understood that was a false narrative. So I decided to go to college."
While Markina enjoyed her time and had some success at Old Dominion, "I felt like there's something more for me. So I decided to enter the transfer portal. I was looking at multiple other colleges and talking to other coaches, but this ended up being the best place and the best fit."
Jandova came all the way from Prague, Czechia. College tennis was a priority for her; it was just a question of where she would go.
"I took a couple of visits. But here, I really liked the campus and the team because the girls were very nice to me from the beginning," she said. "I really liked the philosophy of the coaches. And the tennis and academics together are really great here."
Stephenson has been delighted to have both of them on board.
"Nela committed two years ago. She wants to be part of a great team, be around good people," Stephenson said. "She wants to work hard and develop her tennis, and she's also very into her academics, so it was a good fit all the way around. We were lucky to have her commit a long time ago, so we've had a lot of time to be communicating with her up to her getting on campus."
The timeline and process were considerably different with Markina. But the fit has been just as good.
"It took us some time to really get to know her and what she's all about – her character, values, what she wants to do with her tennis, how she wants to develop and play at the next level, and the skills she brings on the court as a player and as a person," Stephenson said. "It was pretty evident that she fit in well with our culture and values for the program. She's a hard worker and an amazing teammate."
As for their own two-woman tandem, Markina has developed into the leader with her two prior years of college experience.
"That has been really cool to see," Stephenson said. "Marina has done a great job of leading the pair, and Nela has done a great job of buying into it and trusting her teammate. Neither of them are the most loud or vocal people on the court, but they really mesh well as a pair.
"They see the game really well, have very good doubles skills, and there's just something about their dynamic together."
Or, as Jandova puts it, glancing toward Markina and smiling slightly, "Marina tells me what to do and I try to do it and try my best. Most of the time, it works out pretty well."
Now, they're aiming to make it work out again later this month in Georgia.
"They both feel relaxed together and they also have fun together – maybe that's the biggest thing," Stephenson said. "They play with a lot of joy when they're playing doubles.
"When you pair the competitiveness they have but also their feeling calm and playing with joy, they've had success with that."
