Idaho to play in California tournament
It’s been a successful start to the season for the Idaho men’s tennis team as the Vandals find themselves at 5-1 heading into an eight-team tournament in Stockton, California.
File photo by Nate Mattson | Argonaut
Junior Odon Barta practices in the Kibbie Dome Feb. 18. the
Vandals compete in the Pacific-Mountain Invitational Friday.
Friday and Sunday, Pacific University hosts the Pacific Mountain Invitational. While the competition is stiff, Idaho comes into the tournament with the best record of all the teams participating. New Mexico (5-6), Fresno State (4-2), San Francisco (3-3), Cal Poly (5-3), Hawaii (3-4) and Grand Canyon (3-3) will join Pacific (1-8) and the Vandals.
The Pacific Mountain Invitational divides all eight teams into two different pools. Idaho finds itself in Pool Black with San Francisco, Fresno State and Hawaii. The Bulldogs of Fresno State are the first up for the Vandals at 8:30 a.m. Friday at Brookside Community College. The winner takes on the winner of San Francisco and Hawaii, while the loser plays the other loser.
While Idaho has a record of 5-1, the Bulldogs will be the toughest opponent the Vandals have gone up against during their winning streak. Portland State and Northern Colorado are the only NCAA Division I opponents Idaho has beat and both teams have losing records. The other three wins were against Lewis & Clark College (Division III), Whitman (Division III) and Lewis-Clark State (NAIA).
Still, this tournament provides Idaho with an opportunity to see what it can do against more teams at the same level of Division I competition. Fresno State and Hawaii were both in the WAC with Idaho until 2012 and now are in the Mountain West with New Mexico. Grand Canyon was in the WAC with Idaho for a single season last year, and Pacific and San Francisco are both in the West Coast Conference — a similar conference talent-wise to the Big Sky.
Last weekend, the Vandals dominated Northern Colorado in their first Big Sky game since returning to the conference this year. In singles, all the Vandals were victorious except junior Jackson Varney who lost the No. 2 singles match. Idaho also dominated in doubles play where it swept the Bears.
The winning streak will be put to the test this weekend against some quality competition. Gonzaga beat the Vandals 2-5 in the season opener, so it is yet to be seen if Idaho can get a win against a Division I team with a winning record.
After the Pacific Mountain Invitational, Idaho will stay on the road at Portland March 8 and play both Illinois State and Seattle U in a double header the next day in Seattle. Idaho will only play in Moscow against both Montana and North Dakota April 11.
Ben Evensen can be reached at [email protected]