The Idaho women’s tennis team took to the Lewiston courts Saturday, defeating Big Sky opponent Sacramento State 6-1.
The win marks Idaho’s sixth consecutive conference victory. The Vandals (10-5, 6-0 BSC) move into second place in the Big Sky, overtaking Montana State.
“If you look at the season like a graph — we are moving upward,” Idaho head coach Abid Akbar said in a news release. “We are moving towards where we want to be. We are more fit. We are hitting the ball better. We are moving better. I think mentally we are getting to a point where we believe we belong here.”
Idaho began the match with an early lead, taking the doubles point in no time. Senior Claire Yang and freshman Jessica Brzozowska opened the match on court No. 3 with a 6-0 win. Junior Ana Batiri and sophomore Maria Tavares wrapped up doubles play from the No. 2 position, defeating their opponents 6-2.
Tavares translated her doubles success to the singles court, where she came out with a 6-1, 6-2 win from court No. 4, putting Idaho up 2-0 against the Hornets.
Petrei followed suit, staying hot on court No. 1. Her 6-3, 6-1 win extended Idaho’s early lead.
Junior Lucia Badillos saw stiffer competition from the third court. Andi Mouzes dropped the first set against Badillos 6-2. However, she rebounded in the second, giving Badillos a run for her money. Luckily for Idaho, Badillos gave just enough to come out on top 7-6.
Brzozowska won by the slightest of margins on court No 2. She let her opponent, Karina Vyrlan, grab an early lead following a 6-3 loss in the opening set. Brzozowska evened the score in the second with a 6-4 win, and zeroed in on Vyrlan in the third, winning 10-6 in an extended set.
Batiri earned the final point for Idaho on the fifth court. She defeated Sofia Wicker in a drawn-out 6-2, 6-3 battle.
Yang, the Vandals’ lone senior, suffered the only Idaho loss of the day. After jumping to an early lead in the first set, she fell behind in the second, losing 6-3 to Sofia Gulnova. Yang did her best to regain the advantage, but after 17 long games, she could not keep up, dropping the final set 10-7.
Akbar said he was very pleased with the progress his team made during his debut season as the Vandals’ head coach.
“This was our next big challenge,” Akbar said. “The girls stepped up today. They have been playing good tennis, but as you play better and better teams it becomes more and more mental. We had some tough matches today that could have gone either way. At the end of the day it came down to who is going to fight mentally. They showed today that they are ready to step it up.”
Idaho will travel to Flagstaff to take on Northern Arizona next week. The Lumberjacks, along with Idaho and Montana State, remain undefeated in conference play. Idaho looks to end Northern Arizona’s streak April 9.
Brandon Hill can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @brandonmtnhill