To many, the number 13 usually signifies ill fortune or a bad omen, but on Sunday it represented complete domination for the Idaho men’s tennis team.
The Vandals collected a combined 13 points in back-to-back matches to dispose of Idaho State and Seattle U over the weekend in Lewiston.
Idaho (4-2 overall, 2-0 Big Sky) swept its in-state rival 7-0 Saturday afternoon and then used a commanding performance in doubles play Sunday to hand the Seattle U Redhawks a 6-1 loss.
The sweep against the Bengals marked the second Big Sky victory for Idaho this season.
Every Vandal claimed his match in two sets, with junior Mark Kovacs posting the most dominant performance with a 6-1 victory on the No. 1 singles court. Junior Felipe Fonseca also dazzled against the conference rival with a 6-2, 6-0 win.
Sophomore Francis Filipovich came the closest to stealing a point for Idaho State (4-4 overall, 1-1 Big Sky) on the No. 4 singles court, but sophomore Lucas Coutinho downed the Bengal in a seesaw 7-5, 6-4 battle.
Idaho continued a strong showing the following day, claiming all three doubles matches against Seattle U (7-7 overall, 0-0 Western Athletic Conference).
Despite sweeping singles play the previous day, the Vandals initially struggled to gain traction against the Redhawks. Fonseca needed a first-set tiebreaker to pull ahead of freshman Trenton Nield on the No. 2 court, while Coutinho squeaked out a narrow 7-6 (7-3), 5-7, 1-0 (12-10) victory against senior John Stormans.
“We knew that Idaho would challenge us to raise our level, and across the board, we showed we have the ability to play with anyone,” Seattle U assistant coach Matt Look said in a press release.
Sophomore Jeremiah Kalmus provided the lone point for Seattle U with a 6-3, 6-3 win on the No. 6 court against freshman Guilherme Scarpelli.
“Unfortunately, we couldn’t climb the mountain today, but knowing where the top is gives us the belief that we’ll be ready for our upcoming matches,” Look said. “We knew that Idaho would challenge us to raise our level, and across the board, we showed we have the ability to play with anyone said.”
Idaho head coach Abid Akbar picked up his 20th win with the program, while the team extended it’s win streak to three consecutive matches.
The Vandals return to the court for a 1 p.m. meeting with North Dakota (0-7 overall, 0-3 Big Sky) in a conference showdown Saturday in Lewiston.
Josh Grissom can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @GoshJrissom