Cowgirls Battle to Conference-Opening Win

UW blanks Utah State in hard-fought contest

LARAMIE, Wyo. (March 13, 2026) – The Wyoming Cowgirls opened Mountain West play Friday evening with a hard-fought 4-0 victory over Utah State. The Cowgirls used a pair of comeback, three-set victories to come away with conference-opening victory.

The Cowgirls (8-3, 1-0 MW) opened the match by pulling out the Doubles Point as that went back-and-forth. The Team of Eugenia Ceinos and Dilnaz Mashabayeva clinched it at No. 2 doubles, winning 6-4. Silver Bijlsma and Violetta Borodina won easily at the first doubles spot, 6-1.

“I thought in doubles we were extremely disciplined,” said Head Coach Dean Clower after the match.

“Utah State has good doubles, they’re coached well, they go the right spots, they play the right way. We talked before the match that we needed to be disciplined, and the girls really were. They were executing beautifully. “

In singles, Madlena Orlova rallied her contest at the fourth singles spot to clinch the match for Wyoming. After losing the first set, 6-1, Orlova battled back to take sets two and three, 6-4 and 6-3 to secure the contest for the Brown & Gold. UW also got wins at No. 2 and No. 3 on the day.

At No. 2, Bijlsma made quick work of her opponent, winning 6-0 and 6-2. At three, it was another rally for the Cowgirls as Borodina battled back to win in three sets. Set scores for Borodina went 4-6, 6-1 and 6-1. Anastasiia Kochelaevskaia was also up 4-3 in the third set of her matchup at No. 1 before the Orlova clinch.

“Madlena and Violetta were just warriors. V has been doing this for three and a half years now and what you see is what you’re going to get. You’re going to see that fight. She’s never going to go away and on big points she’s going to come up with the big shots. Madlena, after getting down, she came back and battled in the second set and took care of business in the third. It’s not about the tennis at that point, then it’s about the fight and I’m proud of both for what they did.”

Next up, the Cowgirls look to make it a 2-0 start to league play at home as they welcome in Boise State for an 11 a.m., contest Sunday.

Wyoming vs. Utah State
3/13/2026 in Laramie, Wyo.

Wyoming 4, Utah State 0
Doubles competition
1. Bijlsma/Borodina (WYO) def. Halvorsen/Mikva 6-1
2. Ceinos/Mashabayeva (WYO) def. Paterova/Pintea 6-4
3. Ramos/Tourkhani def. Abriola/Kochelaevskaia (WYO) 6-4

Singles competition
1. Kochelaevskaia (WYO) vs. Milkva 6-7 (6-8), 7-5, 4-3, unfinished
2. Bijlsma (WYO) def. Paterova 6-0, 6-2
3. Borodina (WYO) def. Pintea 4-6, 6-1 and 6-1
4. Orlova (WYO) def. Ramos 1-6, 6-4 and 6-3
5. Ceinos (WYO) vs. Tourkhani 5-7, unfinished
6. Mashabayeva (WYO) vs. Sperry 0-1, unfinished