Men’s tennis has undefeated weekend
The Idaho men’s tennis team headed off to Portland last weekend for two matches and came away undefeated with two wins against Portland State and Lewis and Clark College.
Brandon Miller | Argonaut
Freshman Mark Kovacs waits for a serve during practice Oct. 22 at the Memorial Gym tennis courts. Kovacs won both his singles matches over the weekend helping Idaho beat Portland State and Lewis-Clark College. Next, Idaho plays Lewis-Clark State and Whitman Saturday at Lewiston.
It was also Idaho’s first time back with former coach Jeff Beaman. Beaman returned to the Vandals as a volunteer coach after leaving his coaching position at Washington State.
Portland State was Idaho’s first Big Sky Conference match of the season and the Vandals prevailed in a tight match overall, winning 5-2.
In doubles, Idaho’s No. 1 pairing of junior Jackson Varney and senior Cristobal Ramos Salazar defeated Stuart Tierney and Ian Risenhoover.
The Vikings took the next two doubles matches, as Wil Cochrane and Matt Pronesti of PSU defeated junior Odon Barta and freshman Mark Kovacs in the No. 2 doubles. Freshman Felipe Fonseca and freshman Rhys Richardson dropped the No. 3 doubles to the Vikings duo of Ethan Lopez and Brent Wheeler.
In singles, Idaho pulled away from Portland State, going 5-1. Barta, Fonseca, Ramos Salazar, Kovacs and Richardson all won their matches, while Varney was the sole Vandal loss.
“Today’s match was a step in the right direction,” Beaman said following the match. “To come back after losing the doubles point and to win five-of-six singles (matches) is a good sign of things to come.”
The win put Idaho at 11-0 all-time against the Vikings.
The Vandals took on Lewis and Clark College next, not to be confused with Lewis-Clark State in Lewiston, and unlike the PSU match, blew the Pioneers out. Barta, Fonseca, Varney, Ramos Salazar, Jackson and Kovacs all were victorious in their singles matches, and Richardson was the one Idaho player to lose a match. All Idaho pairs won their doubles competition.
“Today gave us the chance to work on some things with guys single’s games and experiment at the No. 2 and 3 doubles with the lineup,” Beaman said.
Idaho now stands at 2-1 in the spring season. The Vandals have a doubleheader Saturday against Whitman and Lewis and Clark State in Lewiston, followed by another Big Sky matchup with Northern Colorado Feb. 21. Idaho does not play at home till April 11 against Montana and North Dakota.
Ben Evensen can be reached at [email protected]