The Idaho women’s tennis team continued to improve during the final stretch of the season with a 6-1 win over North Dakota Friday afternoon in Grand Forks.
“Our goal is to continue to get better as we work towards the tournament,” head coach Mariana Cobra said. “Our doubles play has shown up for us in this stretch and has been a big boost for us.”
Idaho took five of six matches in singles competition, as freshman Marianna Petrei and senior Rita Bermudez led the charge for the Vandals on the No. 1 and No. 3 courts respectively.
Freshman Celine Koets, senior Belen Barcenilla and sophomore Lucia Badillos also earned singles victories Friday.
The defending Big Sky champions began the day by claiming all three doubles matches to earn the doubles point. Bermudez and Koets combined for a 6-0 win while Petrei and Badillos followed 6-1 win.
The Vandals utilized another strong team performance Sunday to conclude conference play with a 6-1 victory over Northern Colorado.
Idaho (15-8 overall, 8-2 Big Sky) began the competition by claiming the doubles point after Barcenilla and sophomore Ana Batiri defeated Northern Colorado’s Beth Coton and Remi Immler 6-4 on the No. 1 doubles court.
“It is always great to get the doubles point,” Cobra said. “When you get that boost it helps build momentum for singles. We have worked a lot this season on our doubles play and it will continue to be a focus for us heading into the tournament.”
Northern Colorado (8-11 overall, 4-6 Big Sky) only earned one singles victory on the day, as Coton beat Batiri 6-4, 6-4 on the No. 2 court.
The Vandals claimed the remaining singles matches. The team’s closest competition came on the No. 5 court, as freshman Maria Tavares defeated Anna Battersby in three sets 6-3, 4-6, 11-9.
“I believe this stretch has been our best of the season,” Cobra said. “We have a few more days of practice before our last match and then the tournament. We will continue to work this week to get better. We want to make sure we peak at the tournament.”
Idaho will conclude its regular season schedule with a nonconference meeting with Seattle University. The Vandals will travel to Seattle to face the Redhawks at 11 a.m. Saturday.
Tess Fox and Josh Grissom can be reached at [email protected]