The Idaho Vandals men’s tennis team traveled to Boise this past weekend and played three matches, finishing with a 1-2 record. The Vandals defeated Linfield College 7-0 and lost to Boise State 7-0 and 6-1, moving their season record to 3-7.
Boise State (Match One)
On Friday, Feb. 6, the Vandals kicked off their weekend with a matchup against in-state rival Boise State. The Broncos started the day with three straight doubles wins. Carson Baker and Avery Tallakson defeated Chetanna Amadike and Gabriel Moroder 6-4.
Taiyo Kurata and Julius Seifert defeated Noe De Col and Mikolaj Lis 6-3. Stewart Aronson and Filip Soderqvist finished the doubles portion with a 6-2 victory over Paul Janson and Eric Wang, giving Boise State a 1-0 lead.
In singles play, Soderqvist defeated Amadike 6-1, 6-2 to put the Broncos up 2-0.
Janson won the first set 7-6 over Tallakson, but Tallakson rebounded to take the next two sets 6-1, 1-0. Lis and Aronson battled through three sets, with Lis winning the first 6-1 before Aronson rebounded to win the next two 6-4, 6-2.
Kurata, Lukas Velik and Seifert all won in straight sets for the Broncos, who closed out the match 7-0.
Linfield
The next morning on Saturday, Feb. 7, the Vandals rebounded against Linfield College. Amadike and Moroder got Idaho off to a strong start in doubles, defeating Brooks Lerfald and Zac Nakajima 6-2. De Col and Wang continued the momentum with a 7-5 victory over Joey Henderson and Cameron Paulsen to give the Vandals a 1-0 lead.
Idaho swept all six singles matches. Amadike continued his strong play with a 6-3, 6-1 victory. Moroder defeated Henderson 6-1, 6-2. Wang defeated Nakajima 6-2, 6-3. De Col rolled to a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Paulsen. Xavier Martin Roca defeated Alexander Rosenquist 6-3, 6-0, and Valentin Glasl closed out the shutout with a 6-1, 6-2 win over Nick Owens.
Boise State (Match Two)
The Vandals faced the Broncos again later that day and were defeated 6-1.
In doubles, Aronson and Soderqvist along with Adam Duda and Idriss Haddouch secured victories to give Boise State a 1-0 lead.
Amadike provided Idaho’s lone point, battling through three sets against Aronson. After winning the first set 7-6, Amadike dropped the second 7-5, but won the decisive third set 1-0.
Soderqvist, Kurata, Velik, Seifert and Haddouch all won their singles matches as the Broncos cruised to victory.
Idaho has faced a challenging non-conference schedule and has four weekends remaining before conference play begins. The Vandals will look to build momentum heading into their conference schedule.
Idaho returns home to the P1FCU Kibbie Dome to face Texas Rio Grande Valley University on Friday, Feb. 13, at 2 p.m., followed by a match against University of California San Diego on Saturday, Feb. 15, at 9 a.m.