Washington Menβs Tennis 2025-26 Season in Review
May 12, 2026 | Men's Tennis
SEATTLE - What a year it was for the Huskies Men's Tennis team. This season has been a successful season of growth and determination for these young Huskies, despite what the recordΒ may indicate.Β
"Compete mode" was the name of the game all season. Head Coach Rahim Esmail, has made that the unofficial mantra on the season. As in interviews post game and at practices throughout the season, this phrase could be heard echoing off the walls from the Nordstrom Tennis Center or out on the courts of the Quillian Tennis Stadium.Β
With one of the overall youngest squads to compete for the Purple and Gold, having a seven-man squad, down from the usual eight orΒ nine, with five underclassmen, the name of the game this season was development and competition. We saw both, if you followed along all season. As the Mens' squad saw every singles starter playing up at least two positions from 2025, or joining the lineup for the first time.Β
TheΒ season wouldΒ see success on and off the court asΒ in the classroom, multiple Huskies made the Dean's List in both the Fall and Winter Quarter. On the court from the fall season, Soham Purohit would make the NCAA Tournament by winning the ITA Northwest Regional Tournament, becoming the first Husky to win the event in almost a quarter-century. Purohit's appearance at the NCAA Singles Tournment is the second year in a row that Washington has been represented at the Tournament and is the third time a Husky has qualified in the past four seasons.This performance would lead to Soham debuting the Dual season as the No. 89 singles player.Β Β Β
Your King of the Northwest!!! ??
β Washington Men's Tennis (@UW_MTennis) October 22, 2025
Soham Purohit becomes the first Husky since Matt Hanlin in 2002 to win the ITA Regional singles title. And he has his ??? for the NCAA Singles Championships next month in Florida!!#GoHuskies pic.twitter.com/krCvK6cSI4
From the Dual season, the Huskies started off strong with multiple winning streaks to open the season with wins over Hawaii, who saw time in ITA top-75 rankings, and againstΒ Belmont; with post-ITA Kickoff Weekend wins over UNC-Wilmington and Portland.
This early success would see Washington enter the ITA Team Top-75 rankings at No. 64 in itsΒ first edition this season. The nonconference slate would be capped with a comeback win at the DiabloΒ Invitational in Tempe, Arizona, as freshman Hyeonseok Seo would complete his own comeback in the match, to clinch the final match point for the win against Tulane.
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β Washington Men's Tennis (@UW_MTennis) February 28, 2026
?? NEVER A DOUBT??
? 6-4 ?
Hyeon seals the HUSKY DUB, 4-3 over Tulane ?? #CompeteMode x #GoHuskies???? pic.twitter.com/ihrRr3mbgO
Moving into the Big Ten schedule, the Huskies would play only two unranked opponents in a thirteen match conference lineup, in Purdue and Penn State. This schedule allowed the Huskies to test the lessons learned early in the year, and gave shows of growth throughout the squad culminating in the wins over a top-60 Nebraska and Purdue; along with the multiple 4-3 showings against top-25 UCLA, top-60 Indiana, and Penn State.Β
This growth was led in part by upperclassmen Brett Pearson and Soham Purohit, who would pair this season in doubles, debuting in the ITA rankings at No. 42, and would be the catalyst to multiple doubles points and match wins over the season. As the the pairing would go on to host an impressive five match win streak in conference play, with a ranked win over Michigan State's No. 27 ranked duo. On the year the pair would finish with a dual record of 11-5 and 17-9 on the full season and are currently ranked at No. 87 with one finalΒ ranking on May 20th.Β
Competition and success weren'tΒ capped by the upperclassmen, as freshmen, Hyeonseok Seo and Daniel Bien, would make their collegiate debuts in both singles and from doubles. Both would go on to haeΒ multiple wins in both, with each emerging victorious in nonconference and from conference play. As Hyeonseok would have a couple of the most memorable moments from the season with multiple match-clinching performances against Tulane and #54 Nebraska. While Daniel would have his best performance against top-60 Indiana, winning his three set match to give the Huskies a 3-1 lead. The freshmen would also pair in doubles multiple times in the season, going 2-1 with match wins over Portland and top-20 USC.Β
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β Washington Men's Tennis (@UW_MTennis) March 28, 2026
Your Huskies defeat the No. 54 Huskers by a score of 4-3!
The Dawgs return to play Sunday, March 28th, vs Wisconsin at 11 am PT!
Stay tuned for more.
#GoHuskies???? pic.twitter.com/vv4GCyUmJh
The other half of the underclass, the sophomore trio of Stephane Kamendje, Rohan Belday, and Nikola Plavsic, would each take the growth mindset of the season to heart with noticeable improvements over the course of the season. As Stephane would play the season from the No. 2, and making his debut at the No. 1 versus Southern California. This jump to the Washington No. 2 from a handful of No. 6 appearances in the 2024-25 season is one of the more impressive feats shown this season for this Husky team. Stephane would go to close the dual season with a record of 11-9 with the second highest win total, which would go to Soham with a 12-7 record, and with a ranked win over UCLA's No. 33 Emon van Loben Sels.Β
Not to be outdone, Nikola Plavsic and Rohan Belday would each contribute to their own growth and the success of the team, with multiple wins from both singles and doubles, highlighted with Rohan forcing a win against Purdue and Nikola getting his first Big Ten singles win against UCLA. From doubles, Rohan would net mutiple two match Big Ten streaks with wins over top-50 Oregon and Nebraska, following with top-45 Michigan and Penn State alongside Stephane Kamendje; while Niloka would net multiple wins early in the season with his best performances coming towards the end of the season highlighted by a winning outing alongside Daniel verus ranked Oregon.Β
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β Washington Men's Tennis (@UW_MTennis) March 14, 2026
With his 6-2, 6-4 Singles & 6-3 Doubles performance, your Man of the Match is...Rohan Belday ??#GoHuskies???? pic.twitter.com/8ike5r6ret
With a squad that has such a large underclass base, the season was capped with a memorable Senior Day performance as the Huskies would take on rival UCLA, in what would be one of the most inspired team performances of the season. Serving as the final test on the season, these young Huskies demonstrated the lessons learned over the course of the year, taking a top-20 ranked Bruins side the distance asΒ multiple Huskies having had their best performance of the season in this match. As Stephane would record his first ranked singles win, Nikola would capture his first singles win in Big Ten play, and Brett Pearson would see his final collegiate match end with a win in straight sets.Β
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β Washington Men's Tennis (@UW_MTennis) April 19, 2026
Brett Pearson closes his Husky career with a 7-6(3), 6-2, Match DUB ??????
+1 Huskies
UW - 2; UCLA - 3#GoHuskies???? pic.twitter.com/OU6vLdUcol
Stay tuned for more.
#GoHuskies???? pic.twitter.com/vv4GCyUmJh
β Washington Men's Tennis (@UW_MTennis) March 28, 2026
Off the court this season Head Coach Rahim Esmail and the Washington staff have taken this season in stride, as they have reloaded the roster for the upcoming fall. As with their success on the recruiting trail with a projected top-25 class of prospects in 2026 set to make their way to campus come the fall. The incoming class projects to be one of the best in program history, and the highest-ranked under Coach Esmail, as prior to this season, the Huskies have peaked in recruiting with the No. 15 class in 2020; while finishing with the No. 17 in 2015 and 2007, the No. 19 in 2009, and No. 23 in 2011.
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