Lucia Badillos — women’s tennis
Most of the attention goes to No. 1 singles and doubles tennis players, but all eyes were on Lucia Badillos and the No. 6 singles match at the Big Sky Women’s Tennis Championship Sunday in Gold River, California. The freshman from La Rioja, Spain, edged out opponent Olivia Boija from Sacramento State 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 to secure the championship for Idaho. The Vandals won the championship 4-3 to give the Hornets their first championship loss in 13 years. The win earned Idaho a second consecutive berth to the NCAA Tournament.
“Having a freshman be able to handle that pressure for us was amazing,” Idaho coach Mariana Cobra said. “She lost the first set and was down 4-1 in the second at one point. For her to be able to stay in the match and keep fighting was amazing.”
Felipe Fonseca — men’s tennis
A freshman stepped up to close out the championship win for the Idaho men’s tennis team Sunday in Gold River, California. Felipe Fonseca defeated Northern Arizona’s Alexandre Locci 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 at No. 2 singles to seal the 4-2 win for Idaho in the Big Sky Championship. The win is Idaho’s second straight conference championship after they won the WAC last season. Now, the Vandals are headed back to the NCAA Tournament.
“Felipe just continued with his amazing freshman year today,” Idaho coach Jeff Beaman said. “He was playing with everything on the line and was able to win the clincher.”
Matt Linehan — football
Quarterback Matt Linehan’s performance at the Silver and Gold Game Friday in the Kibbie Dome may have come against mostly second-team defenders, but it couldn’t have gone much better for the sophomore. Linehan finished the scrimmage 22-of-24 passing for 467 yards and six touchdowns with zero interceptions. He also rushed for six yards and a touchdown.
“He had a great day,” Idaho coach Paul Petrino said of Linehan. “I don’t know if he missed many throws. He put every throw right on the money. He had a really good day.”
Leilanie Kim — women’s golf
Consistent play at the Big Sky Championships earned Idaho women’s golfer Leilanie Kim a fourth-place finish in the 60-player tournament. The senior from Surrey, British Columbia, also earned first-team All-Big Sky honors for her play this season and led Idaho to a third-place finish in the championship. Teammates Kaitlyn Oster and Kristin Strankman joined Kim with first-team honors.
“Leilanie was very consistent this year with several top-10 finishes and has the best NCAA individual ranking in the Big Sky Conference,” Idaho coach Lisa Johnson said.
Emmanuel Panchol — track and field
Two individual jumping victories for Emmanuel Panchol highlighted Idaho track and field’s recent trip over the border to Pullman. The senior from Khartoum, Sudan, won both the high jump and the triple jump at the WSU-hosted Cougar Invitational Saturday. His high jump height of 6-feet-7-inches tied with WSU’s Thane Pierson, while his 48-05 triple jump stood alone at the top. Panchol and the Vandals are back on the track and in the field Friday at the OSU High Point in Corvallis, Oregon, and Saturday at the Payton Jordan Invitational in Stanford, California.