The Idaho men’s tennis team split a weekend series by claiming a win over North Dakota Sunday after falling to Big Sky rival Northern Colorado Friday.
In singles play against Northern Colorado, the Vandals had strong performances from the team’s upperclassmen.
Notable singles wins came from senior Jackson Varney and sophomore Mark Kovacs. Both defeated their opponents handedly, only relenting three games between the two matches.
With two points from singles play, Idaho seemed to be a path to victory.
The Bears stormed back and took control of the match. Sophomore Felipe Fonesca put up a fight against Colorado’s Austin Mayo, but eventually fell in two close sets of 7-5 and 6-4.
Senior Odon Barta of Idaho and Eric Schuerman of Northern Colorado played in an equally hard fought singles match.
Barta dominated the court in the first set, winning 6-1. However, the senior’s early lead was short lived, and Schuermans won the next two sets with scores of 6-2 and 7-5.
The losses sparked a late game slide, and the Vandals lost three straight, resulting in an overall singles score of 4-2.
The silver lining of the competition for the Vandals was doubles play, as Idaho claimed two of the three doubles matches.
Fonesca and Barta won their match against Hayden Cramer and Schuermans 6-2, the biggest doubles win for Idaho Friday.
Northern Colorado claimed a 6-4 doubles win over Varney and freshman Artem Vasheshnikov. Kovacs and Lucas Coutinho combined to earn the tiebreaking victory with a 7-5 win over Jacob Sheldon and Connor Finerty.
Despite a strong showing in doubles play, the Vandals fell to Northern Colorado and suffered the team’s first Big Sky defeat of the season.
Idaho head coach Abid Akbar said Northern Colorado was a tough opponent for the Vandals.
“You have to give credit to Northern Colorado. UNC fought hard,” Akbar said. “We did not bring that same effort today. Hopefully this wakes the team up and they come out hungrier on Sunday.”
The Idaho men’s tennis team rebounded Sunday with a 7-0 sweep of North Dakota.
The Vandals earned initial momentum in doubles play Sunday.
Vasheshnikov and Varney achieved a 6-2 victory in doubles play. The duo’s performance was quickly followed by teammates Coutinho and Kovacs, who won with an identical score.
Fonesca and Barta rounded out the doubles competition, winning 6-1.
Idaho lost just four sets in three matches, one of the most impressive showings for the Vandals all season.
The Vandals also went unbeaten in singles play.
The closest contest was between Vasheshnikov and Travis Lau of North Dakota. Vasheshnikov won the first set by a small margin of 7-5, and dropped the second at 4-6.
The freshman came back in the third set out, sealing the victory for Idaho.
Akbar said the team’s first shutout of the season helped to revitalize the program.
The win also comes at a crucial time in the year, as the Vandals begin a long stint in conference play.
The Vandals are now 6-2 on the season and 1-1 in conference play.
Idaho will resume play on March 5 in Cheney against conference opponent Northern Arizona.
Brandon Hill can be reached at [email protected]
(Photo courtesy by Idaho Athletic Media Relations)