The pressure of remaining the top team in the Big Sky Conference increases with each passing week for the Idaho men’s tennis team this spring.
The team put a five-game win streak on the line during a road trip to California last week, splitting a pair of games against Sonoma State and Sacramento State.
Idaho earned an 8-1 win against Sonoma State Wednesday before falling 5-2 to conference foe Sacramento State Friday at the Rio Del Oro Racquet Club.
The loss snapped Idaho’s win streak and keeps the Hornets undefeated in Big Sky play.
The Vandals drop to 5-2 against Big Sky Conference opponents and move to 11-3 overall.
Sacramento State assistant coach Kevin Kurtz said his team becomes stronger with each match.
“The team continues to get better and I felt like we showed toughness Friday from top to bottom,” Kurtz said. “In singles, our guys came out hot in nearly every first set and we rode that momentum. This was a very good team win and it shows how far we have grown since the beginning of the season.”
The Hornets improved to 4-0 in Big Sky play and 6-10 overall.
The Vandals began doubles play with the duo of freshman Artem Vasheshnikov and senior Jackson Varney claiming an 8-1 victory over Mikus Losbergs and Kasparas Zemaitelis from the No. 1 court.
Sacramento State would bounce back and win the two remaining doubles matches to earn the first point. The Hornets then won four of six singles matches, highlighted by Dom Miller’s 6-1, 6-0 win over Mark Kovacs on the No. 4 court.
Losbergs also won in two sets, defeating senior Odon Barta 6-3, 6-2 from the No. 1 court.
The Vandals had a brief spurt of momentum, as sophomore Felipe Fonseca and freshman Lucas Coutinho won their single matches on the No. 2 and No. 6 courts respectively.
The singles victories by Idaho reduced Sacramento State’s lead to 3-2, but Christopher Clayton denied Idaho’s comeback, defeating Vasheshnikov (6-1, 5-7, 6-2) in three sets to clinch the victory for the Hornets.
On Wednesday, Idaho won its sixth straight game by defeating Sonoma State 8-1 at the Seawolf Tennis Courts in Rohnert Park.
The Vandals earned three points by sweeping doubles play.
Vashesnikov and Varney defeated Sonoma State’s Logan Liddell and Blaine Mengert 8-1 in Idaho’s largest margin of victory.
Idaho carried its momentum into singles, winning four out of the team’s five victories in two sets.
Barta lost in the opening set 6-4 to Daniel Holz, but the senior bounced back to win 6-3 and 10-6 to earn the corresponding point for Idaho. Barta’s win marked the closest competition in Wednesday’s matchup.
Kovacs, who was named the Big Sky Player of the Week, put forth a dominating two-set victory over Sullivan Roche.
Idaho head coach Abid Akbar said the team had been playing confidently during its six-game win streak.
“We are really playing well at the moment,” Akbar said. “The team showed they are adjusting to the conditions well.”
Idaho currently has seven games remaining on its schedule. The team will travel to Provo, Utah to face Brigham Young Friday and Utah State Saturday.
Luis Torres can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @TheLTFiles