With just two weeks left in the regular season, the Idaho women’s tennis team has a spot in the postseason on lock with a regular season title likely on the way.
The Vandals defeated Sacramento State Saturday 6-1 on Senior Day, saying goodbye to one of the program’s most dominating figures.
Senior Marianna Petrei only reiterated her four seasons of success against the Hornets, doubling up with fellow senior Maria Tavares for an opening 6-3 win. In singles, Petrei kept up the heat, storming through her 6-3, 6-4 victory against Maria Gonzalez.
Meanwhile, Tavares unfortunately closed out her final home match with the team’s only loss on court No. 2. However, the rest of the team picked up the slack, as the Vandals went undefeated on the remaining four courts.
Petrei says goodbye to the Palouse with a slew of honors, from three Big Sky MVPs to a perfect 30-0 record in the Big Sky conference during her first three seasons.
The Vandals, meanwhile, will take their 7-1 conference record straight to the Big Sky Championship. Eastern Washington, Northern Arizona and Weber State have also clinched spots in the postseason, with Southern Utah, Sacramento State and Idaho State all vying for the remaining two slots.
Idaho will compete in back-to-back road games next weekend, with a match against Northern Arizona Saturday and Southern Utah Sunday.
Meanwhile, Idaho’s men’s team continued to limp through the final stretch of the season. The Vandals only added on to their new four-match losing stream with a 6-1 defeat at the hands of Southern Utah. Idaho has only managed 1 point in three of its last four matches. Senior Carlos Longhi Neto provided the lone bright spot for the Silver and Gold on court No. 2, winning 6-3, 6-2 against Jonathan Morales.
With a 2-7 record, Idaho sits ninth in the Big Sky Conference standings and firmly outside contention for the Big Sky Championship. It will be Idaho’s first year missing the Big Sky postseason since joining the conference in 2014.
Brandon Hill can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @brandonmtnhill