With the roar of the P1FCU Kibbie Dome, the sounds of tennis balls bouncing on the floor and the crack of balls hitting rackets, the Idaho Vandals women’s tennis team returned home this weekend, walking away with a split to finish the majority of their non-conference slate. They fell 5-2 to the University of New Mexico on Friday before rebounding with a 6-1 win over the University of South Dakota on Sunday.
New Mexico
Friday, Feb. 13, at 9 a.m., the Vandals battled the University of New Mexico. Idaho got off to a strong start as junior doubles duo Jessica Matthews and Naomi Schraeder rolled to a 6-2 victory over Lobos duo freshman Vianca Corley and sophomore Coumba Ben Niangadou.
However, the Lobos took the next two doubles matches to claim the doubles point. Redshirt senior Bente Vanderputte and freshman Yun Yun Tsai defeated sophomore Chenyue Xu and senior Valentina Rodas 6-3, and the Lobos closed out doubles with a 6-0 win as junior Ava Vervoux and sophomore Lea Malazdra defeated junior Ida Johansson and Hannah Koprowska.
Singles proved no better for the Vandals, as New Mexico won four of six matchups. Vanderputte started with a 6-3, 6-0 win over Matthews. Corley defeated Xu 6-4, 6-6. Tsai bested Koprowska 6-3, 6-3. Johansson got the Vandals on the board with a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Malazdra. Petre extended the Lobos’ lead with a 7-5, 6-2, 10-7 victory over Rodas.
In the final matchup of the morning, senior Mariam Hatem locked into a three-set battle with Niangadou. Niangadou won the first set 6-4, but Hatem fought back to win the next two, 6-3 and 10-5, giving the Vandals momentum heading into Sunday.
South Dakota
On Sunday, the Vandals defended home court after Friday’s defeat. They set the tone in doubles, with Schraeder and Matthews defeating freshman Cassy Marra and senior Selena Bird 7-5, winning their second straight doubles match. Johansson and Koprowska battled freshman Keta Shavishvili and redshirt junior Anna Medvyedyeva for a 7-6 win. Idaho completed the sweep when Rodas and Xu defeated freshman Ava Doddridge and sophomore Kayleigh Didderiens 6-3.
The Vandals carried their momentum into singles, taking five of six matches. South Dakota’s lone point came from Bird, who battled Matthews in three sets. Bird took the first set 6-3, Matthews fought back with a 6-4 second set, but Bird closed out the match 3-3 in the third set.
Xu earned Idaho’s first singles win with a 6-1, 6-4 victory over Medvyedyeva. Schraeder defeated Didderiens 6-2 and 6-6 to give Idaho a 3-1 advantage.
Johansson put the Vandals in the driver’s seat with a three-set win over Marra. Johansson took the first set 6-1, dropped the second 6-4, then closed 6-3 in the third.
Hatem and Shavishvili followed with another electric three-set battle. Shavishvili took the first set 6-4, but Hatem answered with a 6-2 second set and dominated the third 10-3 to put the Vandals up 5-1 heading into the final match.
Sophomore Soha Singh closed out the Coyotes in her match against fellow sophomore Natalia Alves. Singh fired on all cylinders, taking the first set 6-3 and sealing the 6-1 team victory with a 6-4 second set win over Alves.
Idaho now shifts its focus to Big Sky Conference play. The Vandals enter conference play with a 3-6 record after battling a tough non-conference schedule and look to get off to a strong start.
Idaho will host the Montana State Bobcats on Friday, Feb. 20, at 10 a.m. in the P1FCU Kibbie Dome. The Vandals will then travel to Lewiston to face Lewis and Clark State College on Saturday at 3 p.m.