Ekaterina Burduli
Ekaterina Burduli enters her fifth season as the assistant tennis coach for Washington State University. Burduli graduated from Washington State University in the spring of 2008 with a bachelor's degree in psychology. She assists head coach Lisa Hart in all aspects of the Cougar Tennis Program.
A native of Tel Aviv, Israel, Burduli had arguably the greatest career of any Cougar tennis player. She held down the No. 1 singles spot all four seasons and was a two-time NCAA Singles participant. She finished the 2008 season with a team-leading 28 victories, the first player in WSU history to register three-straight 20-win seasons. The 28 wins also marked a WSU single-season record. Burduli, who finished the season ranked No. 57 by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association, ended her WSU career with a school-record 90 career singles victories. She led WSU to the NCAA Championships in 2008 for the first time since 2002 while also making her second appearance at the NCAA Singles championships.
In addition to her on-court accomplishments, Burduli was a star in the classroom. She was a three-time All-Pac-10 honoree, and was WSU's 2008 nominee for NCAA Woman of the Year. The psychology major and member of the Pac-10 All-Academic Team was also a recipient of the WSU Big 10 Senior Award, recognizing the 10 most accomplished graduating seniors for the entire university. Additionally, Burduli was named the Arthur Ashe Jr. Sportsmanship and Leadership Award Northwest Region winner. The award goes to a student-athlete who has exhibited outstanding sportsmanship and leadership as well as scholastic, extracurricular and tennis achievements.
Burduli, a USPTA certified teaching professional, is currently completing work for her PhD in psychology at WSU.
