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The University of Idaho women’s tennis team took to the courts Wednesday with hopes of adding a win against Hawai’i to their seven game streak. Hawai’i had different plans, robbing the team of its win with a 5-2 victory.
“They have a really tough team,” said Idaho coach Jeff Beaman. “We just didn’t play well.”
Hawai’i quickly earned the doubles point and the lead when they defeated Idaho’s No. 1 and 2 doubles pairings of Silvia Irimescu and Laura Leoni, and Alexandra Ulesanu and Yvette Ly.
“We started off really slow and I don’t think we were moving as well, so they got a lot of balls by us that they wouldn’t have normally,” Ly said. “Then we started to pick it up when it got later in the match so it was a little too late.”
Idaho’s struggle continued into the singles matches with Irimescu losing to Hawai’i’s No. 1 player, nationally ranked Sophie Kobuch 6-3, 6-1.
“Silvia had her chances in the first set, when she didn’t convert she let it get to her mentally,” Beaman said. “She was playing a player that’s at the highest level and (with) little let downs, good players smell blood and once they’re on top of you they don’t let you get back in it and that’s what happened.”
Idaho’s Ulesanu and Natalie Kirch followed with two more losses at No. 4 and 5 to secure Hawai’i’s victory over the Vandals.
Hawai’i picked up its fifth win against Idaho when Barbara Maciocha lost in the third set to Natasha Zorec. Maciocha sprained her ankle while leading the first set, but continued to fight hard through two more sets against Hawai’i’s No. 2 player.
Ly defeated Hawai’i’s No. 3 player Julia Sandborn 6-4, 6-3, for the Vandals only win of the match.
“The match against Portland state didn’t go so well for me,” Ly said. “I didn’t play well at all so I was really nervous for this match. I was really glad that I stepped up my game a little more because she was a tough player but I think that trying harder and playing the way I did really helped.”
It was a tough loss for the Vandals after losing only one of their last 12 matches, and with only two more matches left before the WAC Championships.
“We had a few players that should have played better,” Beaman said. “Going into that talk after the match you’re thinking you want to stay positive for the rest of the season, but you have to be honest with them and tell them they didn’t play up to the standard they
should have.”
Due to poor weather, the matches were moved to LCSC’s indoor courts.
The women will play their final two matches of the season at Lewis-Clark State College this weekend, where they’ll take on LCSC (8-7) and Eastern Washington (8-12).
Although the Vandals defeated LCSC 7-0 in their first match of the season, Beaman is reminding the team that the early win should not influence the way they play.
“We’re a good team, they’re a good team, 7-0 early in the year means nothing,” Beaman said. “We have to rebound from the Hawai’i loss and go out and play well.”
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