Tennis: Dynasties in the making

Idaho tennis proved over the weekend why it is one of the winningest programs within the University of Idaho after both men’s and women’s tennis brought home a Big Sky Championship title.

Women’s Big Sky Championship

The historic day started with Idaho women’s tennis claiming its fifth consecutive Big Sky title on Saturday after defeating top-seeded Northern Arizona, 4-2.

Northern Arizona battled early for the title, winning on the doubles side of competition.

Entering into singles, Idaho had to win four of six matches to continue its dominance within the Big Sky and the Vandals were able to overcome that challenge.

Junior Marianna Petrei started things out for Idaho winning both of her matches without a single loss, to tie the game at 1-1. The rest of the Vandals followed suit, with Senior Lucia Badillos giving Idaho their first lead of the day after two straight 6-2 wins at No. 3.

Northern Arizona evened things up next to claim their first singles win at No. 2 until sophomore Maggie Chen took away any momentum quickly to give the advantage back to Idaho.

The championship came down to the race between courts No. 4, and No. 5. Freshman Laura Spataro was in the middle of her own three-set fight to the finish, while sophomore Shion Watabe was in a battle herself to keep things alive at No.5

After dropping her first set, Watabe battled to a 5-5 tie in her second match, while Spataro had a lead in her third set at No. 4. Spataro took home the match to give Idaho their fifth straight conference title.

Idaho Head Coach Babar Akbar said his squad played with resiliency during the championship bout.

“The girls did a fantastic job of fighting back,” Akbar said in a news release. “I think our veterans stepped up and motived the rest of the team. In singles, we fought hard and competed on every court.”

Idaho has won five straight conference championships, after winning during the final year in the Western Athletic Conference in 2014, Idaho entered the Big Sky with no bumps in the process.

Idaho women’s tennis will take on Pepperdine in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday.

Men’s Big Sky Championship

Idaho men’s tennis once again did the impossible on Saturday, defeating Montana 4-0 to claim its second straight Big Sky Championship.

The Vandals have left their legacy on the tennis courts in Moscow, claiming their third Big Sky Championship in the past four years. This is also the program’s 13th title since 1966.

Idaho saved some of their best play for last during some outstanding doubles play. Montana pressured Idaho throughout after claiming the first match, but the Vandals responded like they have time and time again throughout the year. Idaho won a pair of 6-4 wins from senior Mark Kovacs and junior Carlos Longhi Neto and the team of senior Felipe Fonseca and sophomore Guilherme Scarpelli.

The Vandals closed out Montana by dominating in singles, by picking up three straight wins to make it impossible for Montana to have a chance.

Junior Lucas Coutinho had a strong start in singles for the Vandals taking an early 2-0 lead in both his 6-3 and his 6-2 win at No. 6. Scarpelli followed the pace with his 2 wins at No. 4

Sophomore Esteban Santibanez had the opportunity to take home the title and he didn’t disappoint. Santibanez brought down Montana’s Max Korkh in a dominating style with back to back 6-2 wins at No. 5.

Idaho Head Coach Abid Akbar said he has nothing but praise for his dominating squad after the big win.

“This team is relentless,” Akbar said. “They have been confident since day one. They came out blazing yesterday and today. They have made the whole Vandal family proud.”

Idaho will now look ahead to a second straight trip to the NCAA Tournament, and will face UCLA in the first round on Saturday.

Chris Deremer can be reached at [email protected] and on Twitter @Cderemer_VN