For the first time since 2002, a women’s doubles team for the Huskies reaches ITA NW finals

A women’s doubles tennis team from Washington has reached the finals of the ITA Northwest Regionals for the first time since 2002.

Katarina Kopcalic, a senior, and Sedona Gallagher, a sophomore, made a comeback in the semifinals Monday at Stanford, beating Oregon’s Rifanty Kahfiani and Allison Mulville, 3-6, 6-1, 1-0 (4). Tuesday, the Huskies face a Stanford pair, with the winning team qualifying for the ITA National Fall Championships.

The Huskies lost the first set Monday, but battled back to dominate the second and breezed to a tiebreaker victory in the third. They are the first UW doubles team to reach the final since 2002 when Claire Carter and Darija Klaic made their way to the final before falling.

In singles play Monday, Kopcalic lost in the semifinals against Maria Kozyreva of Saint Mary’s, 6-1, 6-0.

HONORS

• Washington senior Shayne McPherson, after 44 digs in two matches, was named the defensive volleyball player of the week in the Pac-12. McPherson, a Kennedy Catholic graduate, averaged 5.50 digs per set and helped the Huskies hold the Arizona schools to a combined .146 attack percentage including a season-low .080 mark for Arizona.

• Maddie Batiste of Seattle Pacific was named the offensive volleyball player of the week in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference after helping the Falcons to a pair of victories. Batiste had 32 kills, 24 digs and hit at a .253 clip for the week.

• Seattle Pacific freshman Chloe Gellhaus was named the offensive player of the week in women’s soccer in the GNAC after scoring two goals against Saint Martin’s. She followed that up with strong play against Central Washington as the Falcons won twice.

GOLF

• Pono Yanagi of Washington State is second after the first round of the Visit Stockton Pacific Invite men’s tournament in Stockton, Calif. Yanagi had a 4-under 68 and trails only Sean Yu of San Jose State, who had a 64. WSU is tied for fourth and Seattle University is 11th out of 16 teams. The Cougars were at 1-over 289, seven strokes behind leading San Jose State. The Redhawks are 11 over.

• In the women’s Pat Bradley Invitational in Lakewood Ranch, Fla., Quynn Duong of Gonzaga had an even-par 72 and is tied for ninth, four shots behind the leader. The Zags are eighth in the team race at 12 over.