The Idaho women’s tennis team learned this weekend how difficult a road trip can be.
The team came up short against Sacramento State Friday and San Jose State Saturday, falling to both programs by a single point in each matchup.
The Vandals began play Saturday in Sacramento against the Hornets.
Sacramento State earned an early lead in doubles competition, winning the first two matches 6-0, 6-1. The third doubles match was not completed because the Hornets had already secured the doubles point.
Sacramento continued to roll with the momentum on their side in singles play. Idaho sophomore Ana Batiri fell in the first singles match 6-3, 6-2.
The Hornets led 2-0 before senior Belen Barcenilla was able to earn Idaho its first win of the day in a 6-0, 6-2 rout.
Sophomore Lucia Badillos continued the winning trend, beating Sacramento State’s Andie Mouzes.
Freshman Marianna Petrei, one of the strongest singles players in the Big Sky Conference, struggled early against her opponent. She fell in the first set 6-3, but redeemed herself and won the next two sets 6-1 and 6-4 to claim the singles point.
Ana Loaiza Esquivias of Sacramento State was able to pull off a similar victory against Idaho’s Celine Koets to lock the two teams in a tie with three points apiece.
Maria Tavares and Deimante Bulatovaite played the tiebreaking match. Bulatovaite won the first set, but Tavares responded with a second set victory. Bulatovaite came out with the 6-4 third set win in a fierce battle to earn the victory for the Hornets.
Idaho head coach Mariana Cobra said she saw the positives in Saturday’s loss.
“This was a good test for us,” Cobra said. “We put ourselves in a position to win today. It was good for us to see where we are as a team. I feel like we are close to getting these tight matches to go our way.”
The California road trip brought the Vandals to San Jose State on Sunday. The team engaged in yet another competitive match.
San Jose State repeated the events of Saturday, claiming the doubles point in the first two matches.
San Jose State then claimed singles victories over Batiri and Koets to earn a 3-0 advantage.
Petrei attempted to quell San Jose’s momentum, winning her singles match in two sets.
Barcenilla responded to Petrei’s play by defeating her opponent minutes later to reduce the Spartans lead to one.
Badillos capitalized on the victories from her teammates by beating her opponent 6-3, 6-2.
The score was tied at 3-3, but San Jose State’s Marine Dans was able to hold off Maria Tavares to win the tie breaker and give the Spartans the victory.
The Vandals will return home to face Eastern Washington at 3 p.m. April 1 in Moscow.
Brandon Hill can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @brandonmtnhill Â