The Idaho Vandals wrapped up most of their spring sports and down the stretch had some great finishes from individual players and teams to showcase their talents.
Men’s Golf
The Idaho Vandals men’s golf team had been playing great all season and were ready to compete at the Big Sky Championships on April 27–29. Idaho went stroke for stroke with the competition and finished second place with a score of 850.
Senior Sam Johnson led Idaho finishing fifth with -5, capping off his tremendous All-Big Sky First Tteam season. He was joined by teammates senior Josh McCartain, Joe Sykes and graduate student Dalton Dean.
Sykes was the second Vandal to finish in the top 10 with a sixth- place finish, ending his season at -5.
McCartain, who won Big Sky Player of the Year, rounded out the Vandals’ top 10 finishes with a ninth place finish at -2.
Sophomore Charley Simpson was the final Vandal in the scoring lineup, finishing in 27th place.
Head coach David Nuhn was proud of the team and their runner-up performance.
“I am proud of the battle today. I knew we had to apply some pressure at the start of the round, and I felt like we did that, but sometimes it doesn’t materialize in the end,” Nuhn said in an Idaho Athletics press release. “I am grateful to our four seniors and the effort that they have given to our program. I am going to miss the time I’ve spent with them.”
Women’s Golf
The Vandals women’s golf team also traveled to the Big Sky Tournament on April 20–22. Idaho fought hard and shot a total score of 885 but finished in sixth place.
Redshirt senior Boram Jung led the Vandals as she tied for 12th with a score of +5. After shooting +3 in the first two rounds, she capped her season with her best round of the tournament, going -1 to finish strong.
Sophomore Laura Caamano finished tied for 16th with a score of +7. The first round was her best when she shot +1 before shooting +3 in each of her last two rounds.
Sophomore Ella Kozak ended her tournament with a 28th place finish and a +14 score. She started strong in the first two rounds with a score of +2 heading into the third round, where she struggled and finished with a +10.
Freshman Diya Brar capped the Vandals’ scoring with a 30th place finish at +16.
The Vandals showed flashes of their great talent throughout the season and fought hard until the very end.
Men’s Tennis
The Idaho Vandals men’s tennis team headed to Arizona for the Big Sky Tournament on April 21–23.
The fifth-seeded Vandals’ stay in Arizona would be short lived, as they fell to the fourth-seeded Montana State Bobcats on the first day 4-2, ending their season at 8-18 and losing seven of their last eight matches.
First-time All-Big Sky doubles duo senior Chetanna Amadike and sophomore Gabriel Moroder got the Vandals going early with a victory over Bobcats duo sophomore Eddie Biss and junior Andre Stewart 6-2.
The Vandals’ second doubles pairing of junior Mikolaj Lis and sophomore Noe De Col defeated sophomore Camille Chantron and freshman David Ismanescu 6-3 to claim the doubles point and put the Vandals up 1-0.
The Bobcats, however, started to piece things together during singles, winning four in a row to put the Vandals down 4-1 entering the final match.
Freshman Valentin Glasl didn’t let the Vandals go down without a fight, pulling a match back with a 6-2, 6-3 defeat of Chantron, but the effort wasn’t enough and the Vandals were eliminated.
Women’s Tennis
The Vandals women’s tennis team had a season of ups and downs, and coming into the Big Sky Tournament, they had lost their last three matches, including a 6-1 defeat to the Eastern Washington Eagles, who happened to be their first-round opponent.
The Vandals clipped the Eagles’ wings, knocking them out of the tournament with a 4-0 win and advancing to the semifinals.
Idaho started off the match with their top doubles duo of juniors Naomi Schraeder and Jessica Matthews back on the court together. The pair picked up where they left off, defeating Eastern Washington’s sophomores Olivia Marais and Zoe Pradel 6-2.
The Vandals followed that up with doubles partners junior Ida Johansson and sophomore Hanna Koprowska, the team’s second doubles pair all season. They defeated seniors Anait Arutiunian and Sara Vasic 6-3 to give the Vandals the doubles point.
Sophomore Chenyue Xu started singles off right with a 6-4, 6-0 victory over senior Leandra Nizetic. Johansson gave the Vandals a commanding 3-0 lead with a 6-2, 6-2 win over freshman Veronika Gayevyk.
Sophomore Soha Singh closed it out with a 6-1, 6-2 win over freshman Aneliss Zamfirescu, setting up a matchup with powerhouse Sacramento State.
The Vandals fought until the last point but were outmatched, falling 4-1 to the Hornets. Johansson earned the lone singles win for Idaho in a hard-fought 6-0, 6-4 battle.
With the spring season now behind them, the Vandals can look back with pride on what they accomplished both individually and collectively and set their sights on an even stronger year to come.