A week off for the Idaho men’s tennis team didn’t slow the program’s performance against Northern Arizona Saturday.
Victory did not come easy for the Vandals, as the meeting came down to the final match of the afternoon.
A demanding three sets in singles play determined the victor, as sophomore Mark Kovacs defeated Jackson Lee 7-5 in the final set to clinch the 4-3 win for Idaho in Cheney.
Idaho improves to 2-1 in the Big Sky Conference and 7-2 overall as a result of the win. The victory also marked Idaho’s second straight win.
Idaho coach Abid Akbar said the game was intense during the final stretch.
“Today was a roller coaster,” Akbar said. “It was as close as they get. It is nice to start our conference stretch with the ‘W.’ We have three consecutive Big Sky matches to follow. Three more ‘W’s’ to get.”
Northern Arizona coach Ki Kroll said the loss was frustrating and Northern Arizona would need to respond in the team’s next game.
“It was a tough loss for us today,” Kroll said. “We’ll need to rebound against a hungry Eastern Washington team.”
Idaho’s Kovacs and freshman Lucas Coutinho began the intense matchup with a 6-2 win in doubles on the No. 3 court to snag the early advantage for the Vandals.
The Lumberjacks responded by winning the next two meetings to earn the point in doubles.
The Vandals bounced back momentarily in singles play as senior Odon Barta defeated Tim Handel 6-0, 6-4 on the No. 1 court.
A 6-3, 6-2 win by Northern Arizona’s Felix Schumann over Artem Vasheshnikov regained the advantage for the Lumberjacks.
Senior Jackson Varney and sophomore Felipe Fonseca responded with consecutive singles wins to give Idaho a 3-2 lead.
Coutinho began his matchup with Northern Arizona’s Thomas Fisher on the No. 6 court with a 6-3 set win. But Fisher changed the momentum of the meeting and won the next two sets 7-5, 6-3 to tie the two programs 3-3.
The competition came down to Kovacs and Lee on the No. 5 court to determine the match winner. The Idaho sophomore struggled in the opening set with a 6-2 loss. But Kovacs bounced back to win 6-2 and tie the match.
Both competitors fought back and forth to get the final singles point. Kovacs earned a 7-5 win in the third set to clinch Idaho’s seventh victory of the season.
The Vandals will face Southern Utah at 1 p.m. Thursday in Lewiston. Idaho will then travel to the state of Montana for two conference meetings over the weekend.
Luis Torres can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @TheLTFiles