After a month-long hiatus from tournament play, the Vandal men’s tennis team entered the ITA Mountain Regional in New Mexico with the hope of a strong showing against elite programs throughout the region.
Following a long weekend of play in Albuquerque, the Vandals delivered on that goal. The team emerged from the ITA Mountain Regional with several dominating performances in a tournament that consisted of twelve different universities.
Senior Odon Barta and sophomore Felipe Fonseca provided an immediate spark for the Vandals in the tournament, combining to win the consolation final in doubles play.
Idaho also experienced stellar showings in singles play, including a quarterfinal appearance by sophomore Mark Kovacs.
Following their opening-round loss to opponents Lewis Roskilly and Thomas Tenreiro of rival Boise State, Barta and Fonseca tore through the consolation bracket, winning five straight en route to the finals victory.
The Vandal duo began consolation play with a win against Utah State’s Romai Ugarte and Javier Araya, before taking down the New Mexico State duo of Strahinja Trecakov and Liam Goldberg.
Barta and Fonseca then claimed back-to-back matches against Brigham Young opponents in two consecutive hard-fought victories to reach the consolation championship.
The Vandal pair then faced the Weber State duo of Todd Fought and Jakub Gewert in the finals, easily securing an 8-2 victory.
Idaho also had a hot start in the main draw of singles play, as Kovacs reached the quarterfinals before his elimination in the fourth round of the tournament.
Following a first-round bye, Kovacs faced Jorge Escutia of New Mexico, easily defeating the Lobo on his home court.
In the following round, Kovacs faced Boise State rival Tenreiro, claiming the tightly contested match in a tiebreaking third set 2-6, 6-0, 6-1.
Kovacs’ run through the singles tournament finally halted when he faced Denver’s Yannik James. Kovacs lost the match in two sets to the former Grenada Player of the Year, who eventually reached the singles title match Sunday.
The Vandals now turn their attention to the final tournament of the fall season in Spokane. Idaho will take part in the Bulldog Classic Friday through Sunday at Gonzaga.
Josh Grissom can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @GoshJrissom