The Idaho Vandals women’s tennis team looked to build on the momentum gained from their home split last weekend. They welcomed Big Sky foe Montana State to the P1FCU Kibbie Dome on Friday, Feb. 20, defeating the Bobcats 5-2 to pick up their first conference win of the season. The following day, the Vandals traveled to Lewiston to take on Lewis-Clark State College, leaving with a 7-0 victory to complete the weekend sweep and improve their record to 5-6.
Montana State
Coming off a 6-1 win over South Dakota in the Kibbie Dome, the Vandals carried their momentum into doubles play. The junior dynamic duo of Jessica Matthews and Naomi Schraeder set the tone early, defeating junior Anna Wise and freshman Terezie Stverakova 7-5.
The Bobcats responded in the second doubles match, with junior Angel Bean and sophomore Nia Gelashvili edging out sophomore Hannah Koprowska and junior Ida Johansson 5-4, sending the doubles point to a deciding third match.
Senior Valentina Rodas and sophomore Chenyue Xu stepped up against freshman Lola Bean and senior Kavya Khirwar, cruising to a 6-2 victory to clinch the doubles point for Idaho.
Singles competition raised the stakes, and Xu opened play in a battle with Gelashvili. Xu won the first set 6-4 before Gelashvili responded to take the second 6-4. Xu got the last laugh, however, winning the decisive third set 7-6.
The Bobcats got on the board when Wise defeated Schraeder in a three-set thriller. Wise took the first set 6-4, Schraeder fought back to win the second 6-3, but Wise closed it out 6-2 in the third to give Montana State its first point.
The Bobcats evened the match when Angel Bean defeated Johansson 6-4, 6-4. Idaho then buckled down, with Koprowska, Rodas and senior Mariam Hatem all winning their matches to give the Vandals a 5-2 victory and a 1-0 start in conference play.
Lewis-Clark State
The next morning, the Vandals made the short trip to Lewiston determined to win their third match in a row, and they came out ready.
Johansson and Koprowska opened doubles with a 6-1 win over Lulu Monnayoo and Rylie Gettmann. Xu and Rodas kept the momentum going with a dominant 6-0 victory over Ana Govea and Naiara Montero. Sophomore Soha Singh and Hatem completed the doubles sweep with a 6-1 win over Rayana Shah and Sonam Chuki Dorji.
Singles play was no kinder to the Warriors, as the Vandals swept all six matches. Xu started things off with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Monnayoo. Schraeder pushed Idaho to a 3-0 lead with a win over Shah, and Koprowska added to the advantage with a dominant 6-1, 6-1 victory over Gwyn Heim.
Rodas defeated Montero 6-0, 6-0. Hatem followed with a 6-4, 6-0 victory, and Singh capped the sweep with a 6-1, 6-0 win over Carisa Liebenberg, giving Idaho an emphatic 7-0 result.
Now one game below .500 and winners of three straight, the Vandals appear to be clicking under head coach Sanne Clevenger as they head into the heart of their conference schedule.
Idaho hits the road this week, traveling to Utah for a pair of Big Sky matches. The Vandals face Weber State on Friday, Feb. 27, at 10:30 a.m., then head to Logan to take on Utah State on Sunday, March 1, at 8:30 a.m.