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Practice was pretty relaxed for the University of Idaho tennis players after the men’s and women’s teams won their respective matches Friday. High fives were flying and there was even a bit of serenading on the sidelines.
“It was a good match for us because Wyoming beat two good teams — New Mexico State and Air Force before us,” UI’s Mariel Tinnirello said. “So we expected them to be tough coming in.”
The UI women’s team won 4-3 on Friday in Pullman against the University of Wyoming and extended its winning streak to four matches.
The Vandals started off strong winning the doubles point against Wyoming. UI’s Efrat Leopold beat Corina Lazar of Wyoming in straight sets 6-0, 6-2 for her sixth win in a row.
Also, Idaho’s Patricia Ruman came from behind in her second and third sets to win. The match was tied at three points each with Lauren Shrubb’s match against Wyoming’s Jamie Nelson on the line. Despite the pressure of the match, Shrubb beat Nelson 6-2, 6-1.
“Sometimes when you know your match is for the win, it feels like you are playing against the whole team,” UI associate head coach Tyler Neill said. “But she didn’t let the pressure affect her at all.”
This week, the women’s team prepares to head south for Spring Break to face Boise State and University of the Pacific in Boise. The Broncos’ women’s tennis team is ranked No. 45, so the Vandals are expecting a tough match.
“We plan to go down there and give them a tough time,” Tinnirello said. “If they are going to beat us, they are going to have to earn it.”
The Idaho men’s tennis team beat Lewis-Clark State College on Sunday in Lewiston, despite LCSC beating the Vandals in three matches last season.
The Vandals swept the doubles matches and carried momentum into their singles play. None of the matches were won easily but Stanislov Glukhov, Timothy Huynh and Joel Trudel were able to beat strong opponents.
“It was a great win for the team,” UI senior John Hieb said. “We pulled out the three sets we needed to win. We’ve had trouble at doubles this season and we won 3-0.”
The men also travel to Boise this weekend to face BSU’s No. 27 ranked men’s tennis team and University of the Pacific.
“We still have some conference anger at Pacific from our Big West days so we will expect a good match there,” Hieb said.
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