The Idaho tennis teams faced an uphill battle heading into the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
When the dust settled, the high seeded opponents of both the men’s and women’s teams proved too formidable, and the Vandals went home after just one match.
The women kicked off competition against No. 13 seed Pepperdine. In Malibu, California, the women fell 4-0.
“We played a very tough team,” said head coach Babar Akbar in a news release. “They (Pepperdine) are going to go very far in this tournament. The score does not show it, but I think our girls played very well.”
The Wave took advantage early, securing both singles matches with relative ease. Freshman Laura Spataro was the first to fall in singles competition, followed shortly by sophomores Maggie Chen and Shion Watabe.
Junior Marianna Petrei received her first glance at the upcoming NCAA Singles Tournament, facing off against No. 27 Luisa Stefani. Petrei ranks No. 31 heading into the tournament. She dropped the first set 6-3, and the following competition was left unfinished after the Wave’s clinched victory.
Petrei begins competition May 23.
Sophomore Guilherma Scarpelli serves the ball during Senior Day against Eastern Washington University at the Idaho Tennis Courts Wednesday.
Following the loss, Babar Akbar said he hoped his players kept their heads high and would not forget the memorable season.
“Nobody likes to end the season with a loss,” he said. “This season was fantastic as a whole. We wanted to prove that we could go back out and win the Big Sky again and we did.”
Meanwhile, the Vandal men faced an even tougher challenge in Los Angeles, facing off against No. 2 UCLA. Four quick matches led to an early loss, as the Bruins blanked the Vandals to move on to the second round.
“I think the battle in our team was there,” said men’s head coach Abid Akbar. “Hats off to UCLA. They are No. 2 in the nation and have a very good shot to win the entire tournament. Four out of five years we have put ourselves to be in this position. They love this moment.”
Senior Mark Kovacs and junior Lucas Coutinho did their best to fend off UCLA’s doubles team in the opening match, but eventually lost out on the upset. It did not take long for the Bruins to clinch doubles play and the entire match.
Kovacs came closest to breaking the Vandals onto the scoreboard, but three straight losses by the Silver and Gold kept his match unfinished. Kovacs took on the top ranked player in the nation, Martin Redlicki. Sophomore Guilherme Scarpelli won a single set against his opponent, but he too fell victim to the match’s early end.
Abid Akbar said he appreciated the contributions of all his players this season, especially the work of Kovacs in his final year as a Vandal.
“Mark is a tough competitor,” Akbar said. “Guys like him do not come around very often. He gave the No. 1 guy in the nation a run for his money. What a great way to end his career.”
Brandon Hill can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @brandonmtnhill