A pair of weekend wins against regional foes is just what the doctor ordered for an ailing University of Idaho men’s tennis team, which has turned its mid-season slump into a three-match winning streak.
The Vandals defeated Eastern Washington and Lewis-Clark State 6-1 Saturday in Lewiston.
Idaho played two matches on the day, starting with LCSC in the morning. One struggle as of late for the Vandals has been starting on the right foot and winning the doubles point. A 3-0 victory in the doubles sets secured Idaho’s first doubles point since Jan. 28 against Missouri-Kansas City.
Idaho Director of Tennis Jeff Beaman said winning both the doubles points were the key to the weekend’s victories.
“It was very critical that we got the points in doubles, and even better that we won them so convincingly,” Beaman said. “It was key as well that Andrew (Dobbs) and Marius (Cirstea) played together and won. I feel like we’ve got them playing closer to the level they were in the fall which allows us to spread out our players at the No. 2 and No. 3 teams.”
Idaho built on the early lead, winning five of the six singles matches. Cirstea won his first singles match since Jan. 29, against Portland.
“When you’re playing at No. 1 in the lineup every week it doesn’t matter the team we’re facing, they’re gonna have guys you could lose to,” Beaman said. “It’s tough to play at the top spot in our game because every team has one or a few great players.”
Other Vandal winners in the match were Abid Akbar, Jose Bendeck, Alan Shin and Cesar Torres who won his match 6-0, 6-0. The only Idaho loss against LCSC was in the No. 3 slot where Cristobal Ramos Salazar fell in three sets 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.
Beaman said although playing back-to-back games the same day isn’t ideal, doing it every now and then strengthens the team.
“It’s pretty physically grueling to go out and play an eight-game pro set in doubles, and then singles,” Beaman said. “The guys just have to get a short break in, grab some food, and then right back to it.”
The second match of the day was another walkover for the Vandals, who handled the Eastern Washington Eagles by winning the doubles point 3-0. The No. 1 doubles pairing consists of Dobbs and Cirstea gave up only nine games combined in both wins.
The rest of the match followed the same pattern as the LCSC win with the exception of Salazar, who pulled out a win at the No. 3 singles spot, and Jose Bendeck who lost the No. 4 singles match 6-3, 3-6, 6-3.
“Overall I feel like this weekend was an improvement to go out and beat two really good teams, but we still need to raise our level of play,” Beaman said.
The Vandals will attempt to extend their three-match winning streak when they take on Saint Mary’s March 9 in Moraga, Calif., along with No. 37 Santa Clara March 10, Wisconsin March 11 and No. 16 Fresno State March 13 on a weekend swing in San Jose, Calif.
“We are playing some very tough teams this weekend, and the bottom line is we just have to show up and give our best every day,” Beaman said. “The guys just have to go out there and play hard. They can’t give up on themselves and have to give 100 percent every day this weekend.”