The Idaho women’s tennis team exited the ITA Mountain Regional Tournament Sunday with a solid showing from several players, including two Vandals who reached the third round of singles play.
Out of a field that consisted of 128 athletes, sophomores Ana Batiri and Lucia Badillos both advanced to the third round of the singles tournament Friday before falling to top-ranked opponents.
“Those two are our best competitors at the moment,” Idaho coach Mariana Cobra said. “I know that I’m going to get the best from them every time they step on the court.”
Batiri opened singles play at the ITA Mountain Regional against Jocelle Rudico of the Air Force Academy, easily defeating her in two sets.
In the second round of play, Batiri only conceded one game against Utah’s Jena Cheng, emerging with a 6-1, 6-0 victory.
Batiri then matched up against Boise State’s Teal Vosburgh in the third round of the tournament in a clash of opponents from rival schools. Batiri eventually conceded both sets to Vosburgh, earning her first loss of the weekend.
“It’s great to see Batiri already making an impact on the team during her first year with us,” Cobra said.
Meanwhile, Badillos took down opponents from Northern Arizona and Utah State early in the weekend.
Her toughest test proved to be Claudio Herrero of Nevada, the recent consolation champion at the California Nike Invitational. Badillos faced Herroro Friday in the third round of the tournament, dropping the match in two sets.
In doubles play, all three Vandal duos conceded their second-round match Thursday after going undefeated on the opening day of the ITA Regional.
“We played good doubles this tournament,” Cobra said. “We are still trying to figure out the best combinations for our team but it was good to see where we are at as our players got some experience.”
Cobra was impressed with the overall progress that the Vandals showed in the ITA Regional. She said she felt the team was able to gain valuable experience as it matched up against competitors from a number of elite programs.
“We played a lot of teams from the Pac-12 and the Big Sky and it was good to see how we stack up,” Cobra said. “We challenge ourselves to play harder every day and I think we learned the importance of competing every single match.”
The Vandals now turn their sights to the Gonzaga Invitational Nov. 6-8 in Spokane.
Josh Grissom can be reached at [email protected]