The men’s tennis team went to Boise, Idaho, this weekend to play in the Boise State University tournament on March 6-7. They faced off against the Gonzaga Bulldogs, Brigham Young Cougars and Montana Grizzlies. On the first day, the Vandals faced no. 65 Gonzaga and lost 4-1. They put up a tough fight in the beginning.
In the second match, they played against the Cougars and had a tough time against the 11-1 BYU, losing 4-1. The next day, against Montana, the Vandals had a very close battle and only lost 4-3.
In the first match, Idaho started off against a tough opponent, the Bulldogs. Idaho lost their three doubles matches, and it resulted in a lot of momentum going into singles for Gonzaga. Idaho took the first and fifth match win.
The Vandals’ Chetanna Amadike won his match 6-2, which led the Vandals to a strong start. After the next four matches were taken by the Bulldogs, Sander Paradis won his match over Tom Dunlop, 6-2. The final score was 4-1, Gonzaga.
Going into the next match inside the same day, the Vandals played BYU. The Cougars have been on a very strong roll this season and came into this match with just one loss.
The beginning of the doubles matches went similarly to the start of games against Gonzaga, and BYU won all three. In the singles, Idaho got some momentum with Gabriel Morodor winning his match. It was a little too late, as BYU already had the full match won. Although, this gave the Vandals some momentum for their match the next day against Montana.
Amadike had a great day against Montana and won both his doubles and singles matches. This gave the Vandals a great start and put them in position to walk away with a win during the Boise State tournament. For their first match against an in-conference opponent, they put up a fight. Despite the wins, they could not close out the singles games, and it left them with a 4-3 loss.
Idaho had a long and hard-fought weekend, and it was a good chance to test their mettle on a big stage. Both BYU and Gonzaga were ranked opponents, and even though they lost by a significant margin, they showed what they could do. The match against Montana was a heartbreaker, as it was a Big Sky opponent.
Looking ahead, the Vandals have a lot more in conference games to look forward to. The next two matches are at home on March 14-15. Idaho State and Sacramento State will be coming to Moscow and student fans will look forward to watching as conference play gets underway.