After a match-opening sweep of Missouri-Kansas City it looked like the No. 56 Vandal men’s tennis team was up for another solid weekend.
Those plans crumbled as the No. 75 Oregon Ducks smashed the Vandals and another loss to University of Portland gave the Vandals a long ride home after a 1-2 weekend, but Idaho Director of Tennis Jeff Beaman didn’t leave Oregon distraught.
“To get a win against a team like UMKC that made the NCAA’s last year was a nice start to the tough weekend of tennis,” Beaman said. “To compete that hard against Oregon is just something the team should grow from.”
It looked like that growth would have been a moot point, just hours before when Idaho won with ease against a Missouri-Kansas City team that didn’t win a match against the Vandals in a 4-0 rout. In fact, only one match went to three sets, as sophomore Jose Bendeck’s match-up against Connor Edwards was called 1-6, 7-6, 0-3 on account of the overall match being decided.
The thrashing of the Kangaroos was for not though, as the Vandals were pummeled by the Ducks 7-0. The lone match the Vandals squeaked out was the doubles-pairing of junior Abid Akbar and freshman Cristobal Ramos Salazar who took down Aaron Clissold and Daniel Sardu in the slimmest of margins 7-7 (7-5).
After a Saturday of ups and downs the Vandals left Eugene and headed north to the Rose City for a match against Portland Sunday. The Vandals fell again, this time 5-2.
The loss was not without effort, as junior Marius Cirstea in the No.1 position led the way for the Vandals with a marathon victory over Michael HuKwo 6-4, 6-7, 7-6. Freshman Cesar Torres added to the Vandals score from the No. 6 spot as he defeated Jackson Martin 6-4, 6-2.
Idaho’s doubles teams, which were a staple for the team’s success last season, were unable to walk away with a victory. The closest loss came by way of senior Andrew Dobbs and junior Jake Knox who lost 9-7 to Daniel Coelho and Justin Guay.
After the final loss to the Pilots the Vandals head back home to Moscow after playing six matches in nine days.
The Vandals’ 3-3 record and hopes of moving up the rankings may be on hold.
The Vandals will be back on the court Feb. 3 against Gonzaga in Spokane until the middle of February, for the last time.