The Idaho Vandals men’s tennis team played Texas Rio Grand Valley this past Friday and won 4-3. Vandals than played University of California San Diego on Sunday and won that match as well, 5-2. These were big wins for the Vandals, and they have now won four straight matches at home. Coming into the weekend, the Vandals were 3-7, and they now boast a record of 5-7.
The Vandals started off in doubles, winning all three matches. The atmosphere was electric, with the Vandals having a lot of energy between sets. All three matches were close, with one of them going into overtime at 6-6.
In the singles, senior Chetanna Amadike won both matches to secure the win. Sophomores Paul Janson and Gabriel Moroder also won their respective singles matches, and Idaho walked away 3-3 in singles. With the sweep in the doubles, Idaho secured the win 4-3.
Sunday, the Vandals faced off against UC San Diego, Idaho’s ninth division one opponent so far in the season. The matches kicked off at 9 a.m. and the Vandals started hot by winning all three doubles matches again. They did not lose a single doubles match over the weekend.
Going into the singles matches, junior Mikolaj Lis won his first match 6-0, which gave Idaho a lot of momentum. After that match was over, Idaho won three more matches. This led to a 4-0 start. Idaho lost the last two matches, and they ended the singles portion 4-2.
After these facing off against these two opponents, the Vandals are looking to take that momentum and go to Spokane to play Gonzaga and go on a three-game win streak. The Vandals already went to Spokane at the beginning of the season for a tournament. This time, the two teams will be facing head-to-head. Idaho and the Bulldogs will hit the court on Saturday, Feb. 21, at 1 p.m.
After the Vandals take on Gonzaga, they will go to Boise for a tournament. It will be their last non-conference game for a while as they begin conference play on March. 14, with a matchup with Idaho State.
