The BYU Cougars are a regional powerhouse and the LCSC Warriors are rapidly improving, but neither managed to stop Idaho women’s tennis Saturday.
Idaho played BYU at 10 a.m. and jumped ahead 4-0 before winning 4-2 in Pullman. A repeat 7-0 victory over the Warriors immediately followed Idaho’s defeat of BYU in Lewiston.
“BYU was tough,” Idaho coach Daniel Pollock said. “They were very solid with some good players, especially at the top of their lineup.”
He said the Warriors were a much-improved team from the last time they met Jan. 16.
“They put a lot of balls on the court in the bottom of their line-up and the top of the line-up is always tough with Dominicka (Jasova) playing up there,” Pollock said.
Pollock expected Idaho to beat LCSC but had concern regarding regional powerhouse BYU. The Cougars beat Denver, dominated Nevada and lost a close 4-3 match to No. 70 University of Wisconsin.
“For us to beat them and not just beat them but beat them convincingly, is huge for the program and it’s huge for the girls for their confidence,” Pollock said.
Senior Annamaria Gould said the home crowd in Pullman was comforting.
“It was a big support to just have fans come out and watch us and know how well we are doing,” Gould said.
The Vandals returned to the court against LCSC at 4:30 p.m. in Lewiston. Gould said they expected an improved Warriors squad and the Vandals improved too.
“Our team has been really strong and even when they stepped up their game we were able to step up ours as well, so it just kind of reflects how deep our team is,” Gould said.
Before the LCSC match, Pollock changed the line-up to attempt to get different matchups that worked in Idaho’s favor.
“Almudena (Sanz) played a very smart match at No. 1,” Pollock said. “And we had some really strong performances in the lineup and then Annamaria got to play, and she took care of business at No. 6 which was real nice.”
Pollock said individual matches build confidence, but they aren’t the most important part of the match to him.
“For me it’s definitely more important that the team wins and that we have confidence as a group because it’s a different kind of confidence,” Pollock said. “It’s always nice to end the day winning 7-0 though and winning all your singles matches, so I can’t complain about that at all.”
Gould said Saturday’s performances are a good start for the team as it moves into the second half of the season.
“It will give us a lot of confidence to take to El Paso, Texas, and to New Mexico, so we will just do really well while we are there,” Gould said.
The Vandals sit at 9-4 and Gould said she is pleased with how the season is shaping up.
“It’s a great record, and I only see it getting better from here on out,” Gould said.
Pollock said Saturday’s wins are a morale-booster and told team members after the match that they should be proud of the first half of the season.
“If someone had told me that the team would be 9-4 at this point in the year and would have beaten BYU I would have taken it for sure,” Pollock said.
Idaho travels to Texas and New Mexico to face UTEP and WAC opponent New Mexico State on Friday and Saturday.
Charles Crowley can be reached at [email protected]