The Vandal men’s tennis team heads to the Boise State Fall Tournament Saturday in hopes of another performance like their last.
Director of tennis Jeff Beaman said there is not as much of a “rivalry factor” because it is an individual event, but the Vandals definitely know who they are on the court with.
“Just having Boise State players in the event raises the level of competition, and whenever Idaho faces off against BSU at this or any fall event there is that added factor of the rivalry,” Beaman said.
Eight universities will also be represented at the tournament, including Eastern Washington, Gonzaga, Idaho State and Montana. No matter who the Vandals are up against this weekend, Beaman said the team is ready.
“The guys have had several weeks of training so they all should have a solid base to perform well in singles,” Beaman said.
At last week’s Gonzaga-Eastern Washington Invitational the Vandals performed well in the open-singles event, securing first and second place. Doubles teams were not as successful though, so this week the coaches are trying something a little different.
“We are throwing some totally new doubles combinations out there to see how they work in competition so we have several options for the spring,” Beaman said. “It will be interesting to see how those teams perform.”
Beaman said BSU’s high-quality facilities, both on-campus and across the river, make it that much easier for the men to perform well. He said it is nice that they have an indoor facility in case the rain decides to show up uninvited.
Win or lose, Beaman said the atmosphere in Boise will be great as always.
“They have a great tennis following and always have a bunch of spectators at their events and matches,” Beaman said. “Then you add the University of Idaho tennis alumni that follow tennis and live in the Boise area — it makes for a lot of fans and fun environment.