After a 7-0 loss against No. 32 Washington State, Idaho women’s tennis team is hungry for victory going into three consecutive matches this weekend against the University of Oregon at 5 p.m. Saturday followed by Portland at 10 a.m. Sunday and Portland State at 6 p.m.
For coach Myriam Sopel and the players, this upcoming, non-stop competitive weekend is an opportunity to prove that this team has what it takes to come out victorious after the first double-header of the year.
“I think we are ready for that. We’ve been really good in the weight room with conditioning and playing tired. At some point it just comes down to team spirit and we’ve been coming together as a team,” Sopel said.
Almudena Sanz and Victoria Lozano are looking to come back strong after WSU standout Liudmila Vasilieva and doubles mate Liz Leenknecht won out against Idaho’s No.1 doubles team last weekend.
“I think next weekend we will do better because we are improving in practice and I think we will be able to play in the next three games,” Sanz said. “I didn’t do a good match. I played so bad I just didn’t feel comfortable with myself, but I’m working on being more consistent in the back of the court and I’ll be fine next weekend.”
Last year, Sanz had a successful spring season in doubles with an 18-7 record.
“The tactic in doubles, I want to keep working on it and doing the same thing since last year. In singles there is a lot of things that I have improved, like my backhand and just rotating the court and I need to keep working on it,” Sanz said.
Lozano attempted to rally back in the second set of an intense match against Vasilieva in No. 1 singles, but was defeated 6-3, 7-5. She could be facing another tough singles competitor on Saturday against Oregon.
The Ducks are 2-0 against the Vandals and one of UO’s seniors, Patricia Skowronski, defeated Florida’s Danielle Collins, who was rankedNo. 22 in the nation. Oregon blue chip recruit Danielle Long also defeated Stanford’s Natalie Dillon last weekend in Vegas.
Sopel said the doubles and singles match-ups are not yet set in stone.
“I’m very excited because it’s an opportunity to see how the practices have been working for us and how we are as a team with new girls, so I’m excited about it,” Lozano said. “I’ve been working on defining more the points and going to the net and finishing the point at the net because I didn’t do that very often with Luda, even though I had the chances to do it. That’s what I’m focusing on for the next match.”
Both Sanz and Lozano plan to work together again this time after a little bit of discussion.
“I think what we have to improve on is communication. I think we’re both good at the net, but we have to communicate with what we have to do, but overall I feel comfortable with her playing,” Lozano said.
The Vandals defeated Portland last year by a score of 4-3 and Portland State might be a bigger challenge, considering the Pilots only lost to the Cougars 5-2.
“Maybe Portland looks easier on the paper, but we’re not going to underestimate them because any team can compete very well and we know it,” Sopel said. “Every team we have on our schedule is going to be really tough for us this year so it will be a good challenge to compete against them and make sure we keep that winning record against them.”
Aaron Wolfe can be reached at [email protected]