Sometimes players at the bottom of the lineup don’t get much recognition. But against the Portland Pilots (4-10) Sunday, Idaho women’s tennis (14-5, 0-1 WAC) fell behind 3-1 and the bottom of the line-up mounted a comeback 4-3 victory.
“They all did really good jobs in doubles,” Idaho coach Daniel Pollock said. “In singles, our top players had tough match-ups, and they tried a couple of things that just didn’t go our way but they battled.”
The comeback would not have been possible if Idaho hadn’t gained the first point of the match with doubles victories. Pollock said the Pilots spread their top three players across all the doubles teams and played well all the way down.
“So we played really well in doubles, one of our best doubles performances of the season, to take the doubles point which proved crucial in the end,” Pollock said.
Sophomore Alejandra Lozano echoed Pollock.
“The girls that me and Bety (Flores) played were really good and hit the ball really hard and so we lost that match but the other girls played really good and won the point so that was good,” Lozano said.
Entering singles play up 1-0, Idaho realized the match was far from over. Pollock said Portland was tough at the top of its lineup, but faded toward the bottom.
“We lost the top three and were down 3-1 and then Sophie (Vickers) came back after losing the first set and then Ale(jandra) and Bety put the finishing touches to the comeback,” Pollock said.
After losing the first set 6-4, Vickers took the next two 6-1, 6-3, to win the match. Lozano and Flores beat their opponents in two straight sets with identical scores, 6-2, 6-2.
Lozano said she didn’t feel well, and worried it would affect her play.
“Dan told me to play free and to just hit the ball how I know so I just played my game and it worked,” Lozano said.
Pollock said it wasn’t easy for the lower-seeded players to get a win against competition Idaho expects to beat.
“Especially when we were down 3-1 and there is a lot of pressure on us but they all stepped up, met the challenge and played really well,” Pollock said.
Alejandra Lozano said the opponents Vicky Lozano, Molly Knox and Almudena Sanz played in singles were tough, so the doubles point was important to win.
Pollock said the Vandals rarely play in tennis-specific facilities and said the Pilots were actually pretty at home in this facility.
“Honestly playing in an indoor club is more like the surroundings they are more used to than were used to so it was pretty even (and) they looked right at home,” Pollock said.
If the weather holds, Idaho will play at home Friday against Weber State. Pollock said he is confident of success at home, but has doubts about the two that follow.
“We just have to hope to stay healthy and just keep getting sharper and sharper,” Pollock said. “We have had several weeks off so I think we can only get better again in our match play after this week.”
Charles Crowley can be reached at [email protected]