22nd-Ranked UW Women’s Tennis Tops Boise State to Open 2026 Home Slate
By Charles Hamaker
Seattle, WA - After opening their 2026 season on the road against Hawaii, the 22nd-ranked Washington Husky women’s tennis team moved to 2-0 on the year with a 6-1 victory over the Boise State Broncos. The Huskies had scheduled this match against the Broncos after flight cancellations prevented Washington from traveling to Knoxville, Tennessee, for ITA Kickoff Weekend. The Huskies have defeated the Broncos by a final of 6-1 in the two most recent meetings between the teams, including today's match, and their last meeting back in 2024, improving to 11-2 all-time against Boise State. Although not in the ITA Top 25 coming into this matchup against the Huskies, the Broncos were 1-0 and coming off their first Mountain West title since 2010, giving Washington a solid victory to begin their home schedule.
Sights and scenes from Washington Husky women’s tennis players in doubles action against Boise State on Sunday, January 25th, 2026, at the Nordstrom Tennis Center. (Photos by Jules Junior Anoumou for Circling Seattle Sports)
A strong performance from the duos of Reece Carter/Jermine Sherif and Erika Matsuda/Carina Syrtveit on court three saw the Huskies take the doubles point emphatically. Senior Reece Carter and junior Jermine Sherif took their doubles match in cruising fashion over the Boise State duo of junior Tereza Polakova and sophomore Masa Viriant. Carter and Sherif secured a 6-2 victory to kick things off, the first victory of the afternoon for the Huskies to help set the tone.
Over on court one, the 67th-ranked (ITA rankings) duo of Erika Matsuda, in her senior year, and sophomore Carina Syrtveit helped Washington earn the doubles point in this match against Boise State behind a gritty and grinding 6-4 victory over the Broncos duo of junior Zdena Safarova and sophomore Paula Schaefer, two All-Mountain West honorees last season.
The third doubles match, taking place on court two, saw the Husky duo of juniors Alexia Jacobs and Marie Weissheim come close to mounting an impressive comeback against the Broncos duo of redshirt senior Lorelyz Marruffo and freshman Carla Grignac. Washington’s duo of Jacobs and Weissheim went down 1-3 early, but managed to battle back for a 5-4 lead before the match went unfinished.
Washington Husky women’s tennis junior Jermine Sherif in singles action against Boise State on Sunday, January 25th, 2026, at the Nordstrom Tennis Center. (Photos by Jules Junior Anoumou for Circling Seattle Sports)
The first singles victory came from Washington’s number four spot, as junior Jermine Sherif took victory behind 6-3 and 6-0 results, battling in the first set. Sherif took down Boise State sophomore Masa Viriant in order to secure the first singles point of the day for the Huskies.
Washington Husky women’s tennis junior Alexia Jacobs in singles action against Boise State on Sunday, January 25th, 2026, at the Nordstrom Tennis Center. (Photos by Jules Junior Anoumou for Circling Seattle Sports)
Washington created a stranglehold on the day when junior Alexia Jacobs, in the number three spot for the Huskies, finished not far behind Sherif with 6-1 and 6-3 results over Broncos senior Allison Isaacs.
The Huskies began to put the finishing touches on the match, as No. 43-ranked Reece Carter for Washington took 6-2 and 6-3 results over junior Tereza Polakova on court two. The straight-set victory for Carter continues a strong season for her, after she was named to the NCAA Singles Individual Championship alongside five other Husky teammates.
Washington Husky women’s tennis senior Erika Matsuda in singles action against Boise State on Sunday, January 25th, 2026, at the Nordstrom Tennis Center. (Photos by Jules Junior Anoumou for Circling Seattle Sports)
The lone win of the day for Boise State came on court six, where sophomore Carina Syrtveit was unable to come through for a third-set tie-breaker. Broncos freshman Carla Grignac recorded results of 6-3, 3-6, and 1-0 [10-6] to defeat Syrtveit and give Boise State a singles point. It’s a tough result for Syrtveit, who had an impressive start to the season as she was one of the other five Huskies named to the NCAA Singles & Doubles Individual Championship back in the fall, in the doubles category. The second-year athlete from Oslo, Norway, will look to bounce back, although she did have a strong performance in the doubles alongside Matsuda.
Washington earned their fifth point of the afternoon with a win from the top court, as No. 66-ranked Erika Matsuda defeated Broncos junior Zdena Safarova with straight-set results of 6-3 and 6-2. Matsuda continues to be a shining star for the Huskies, becoming the 11th Washington player all-time to compete in both singles and doubles back at the NCAA Singles & Doubles Individual Championship in the fall.
Junior Marie Weissheim put the finishing touches on the victory for the Huskies, earning results of 7-6(6) and 6-0 over Boise State sophomore Paula Schaefer on court five. Weissheim, a transfer from UC Santa Barbara, is also one of the Washington players that took part in the NCAA Singles & Doubles Individual Championship back in the fall.
What’s next?
Following this home victory over Boise State, the Washington Husky women’s tennis team remains within the friendly confines of the Nordstrom Tennis Center for their next match. That next match comes on Saturday, January 31st, when the Portland Pilots come to town for a 3 PM PST start. The Pilots will come to Seattle after dropping a tight 4-3 result to the Brown Bears in Providence, Rhode Island, nearly facing off against the Bryant Bulldogs the next day, before that contest was canceled due to inclement weather. Portland sits at 1-1 so far this season, getting a 7-0 victory over Stonehill College in its opening match of 2026. This match against Rice is the last at home before Washington is scheduled to head to Texas for matchups against Rice on February 7th and 25th-ranked Baylor on February 8th.
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Follow our accounts dedicated strictly to University of Washington athletics! Instagram: @CSS_UWHuskies Twitter: @CSS_College 〰️
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