One shot.
That’s all that mattered for the No. 63 University of Idaho men’s tennis team as it knocked off the Gonzaga Bulldogs in dramatic fashion, clawing back after trailing 3-1 to win the match 4-3 on Friday in Spokane.
The Vandals erased the early deficit by winning four of six singles matches, after losing the doubles point to start the match.
Idaho Director of Tennis Jeff Beaman said not only are the Bulldogs a tough team to play physically, but their home court is set up to give them a mental advantage, too.
“They have a lot of students, fans and support at their matches,” Beaman said. “Their stands are pretty full and are located pretty much on top of the courts. There’s no doubt that we felt lot of pressure.”
Idaho didn’t go home empty in the doubles department though, as the No. 1 pairing of Marius Cirstea and Andrew Dobbs pulled out an 8-3 win. This was the first time the pairing, which is ranked No. 23 in the nation, has played together in an event since Jan. 21 when they won at No. 1 doubles against Seattle. The Vandals lost the No. 2 and No. 3 doubles matches though, to give away the point.
Beaman said his reasoning for not playing Cirstea and Dobbs together recently is to try and get doubles depth outside of the team’s No. 1 spot.
“I’m really not sure about our best possible doubles lineup right now, “Beaman said. “On certain days we have one of the best teams in the country. I know I can always go back to them as a team, but I also want to see if we could spread the doubles out to give us some depth.”
The Bulldogs also got points from wins at the No. 1 and No. 6 singles spots, defeating Cirstea and freshman Cesar Torres.
The four Idaho points didn’t come as easily as the Bulldog points, as all four singles wins for the Vandals took three sets each.
Vandal junior Abid Akbar battled through two tie-breakers in his marathon 7-6, 4-6, 7-6 win over Alvaro Nazal. Beaman said this win was big for Akbar and really shows how much he has improved as a player.
“Abid’s game has improved 100 percent since last year, and mentally he has learned how to battle in tough matches like this one,” Beaman said. “He went out under extreme pressure when the match was on his shoulders and got the win, showing he can compete under pressure and play up high at our two spot.”
Other Idaho singles winners included No. 3 Cristobal Salazar who won 6-4, 4-6, 6-1, No. 4 Alan Shin who won 2-6, 6-4, 7-5 and No. 5 Jose Bendeck whose 5-7, 6-0, 7-5 win sealed the match for Idaho.
“Every singles match came down to the wire and one loss could have given them the win,” Beaman said. “We really showed our heart against Gonzaga.”
Up next for the Vandals is a trip to Lincoln, Neb., Feb. 18 and 19 to face the University of Nebraska Cornhuskers and the Drake University Bulldogs. Idaho’s next WAC match will take place March 13 when they travel to Fresno State.