The University of Idaho women’s tennis team hit the road after an opening match loss to Washington State at the P1FCU Kibbie Dome a week prior.
The Vandals traveled to Eugene, Oregon, and took on host Oregon Ducks and the New Mexico State Aggies. Idaho fell to the Ducks 4-0 before rebounding with a 4-3 victory over the Aggies to move to 1-2 onthe season.
Oregon
On Saturday, Jan. 24, the Vandals opened strong at the Duck Invitational behind junior doubles duo Jessica Matthews and Naomi Schraeder, who defeated their Oregon opponents 6-2. However, the Ducks responded with victories in the second and third doubles matches, both 6-4, to claim the doubles point.
Oregon carried that momentum into singles play, rolling to three straight victories to take the 4-0 win.
New Mexico State
After a tough day on Saturday, the Vandals entered Sunday’s match against New Mexico State hungry for their first win of the season. Matthews and Schraeder again started Idaho strong, defeating the Aggies’ senior Anna Pinaieva and junior Whitney Moon 6-4 in doubles.
After a draw in the second doubles match, Idaho’s sophomore Hanna Koprowska and junior Ida Johansson rose to the challenge, defeating sophomores Nadia Nemeth and Emma Petton 6-4 to earn Idaho’s first doubles point of the season and a 1-0 lead.
In singles play, Matthews continued her strong weekend with a 6-3, 6-1 victory over Nemeth to put the Vandals up 2-0. The Aggies got on the board when Pinaieva defeated Schraeder 7-6, 6-4.
Moon tied it at 2-2 with a 6-2, 6-4 victory, putting pressure on Idaho.
Sophomore Montana Parkinson-Lubold put the Aggies ahead 3-2 with a 6-1, 6-2 victory over sophomore Chenyue Xu.
Idaho refused to fold. Johansson stood firm in a pressure-packed match, defeating Petton to tie it at 3-3 and send it to a deciding seventh match.
Senior Mariam Hatem Ibrahim took the court against freshman Anna Kilmova. Kilmova won the first set 6-2, but Hatem Ibrahim countered with a 7-5 second set victory to force a deciding third set. The senior used her experience to pull away 6-2 in the final set, clinching the match for Idaho.
The Vandals, led by head coach Sanne Louwers, are coming off a strong 15-6 (6-2 Big Sky) season. Idaho returns key players led by Schraeder and entered the season picked third in the Big Sky Conference media poll. After two tough battles against Washington State and Oregon, the
Vandals secured their first win and will look to build momentum before conference play begins.
Idaho travels to California this weekend for the Pacific Invitational, opening with Pacific University on Friday, Jan. 31, at 1 p.m., followed by a match against the University of Nevada on Saturday.