Youthful players and their new coach overcame the odds this season as the Vandal women’s tennis team finished 19-8 overall and 4-2 in the WAC.
File Photo by Tony Marcolina | Argonaut Idaho's Almudena Sanz serves the ball during a doubles match with Vicky Lozano against Nevada April 11 on the Memorial Gym tennis courts. The women beat Nevada 4-3.
“On paper this team was never meant to be this good but they get along well together, they try their butts off on the court and they leave everything on the court every time they play,” Idaho coach Daniel Pollock said.
The Vandals only had two seniors on the team and the rest were basically freshmen. Pollock imagined his first year with Idaho would be a building year but it became much more than that.
“It’s been a really fun group of kids to work with and they have done a great job this year,” Pollock said. “They have worked really, really hard and I think our results on the court are reflective of the work that was put in.”
Sophomore Vicky Lozano, Idaho’s No. 1 player, said the team cannot take all the credit.
“This means that everything Dan (Pollock) has done with organization and with all our practices and everything, he has done a very good job,” Lozano said.
Pollock’s direction, coupled with hard work through the season earned Lozano a first-team all-WAC selection. Idaho’s No. 2, Almudena Sanz earned a second-team all-WAC selection.
“They have had great seasons and it was nice to see them recognized for that at the awards banquet,” Vickers said.
Lozano and Sanz also earned a first-team selection as a doubles pairing.
“I think Almu and me fit very well in doubles, we like to be aggressive and I think our game compliments each other very well on the court,” Lozano said.
With Lozano and Sanz at the top of the lineup, the Vandals won their first WAC Tournament match since 2007 and advanced to the semi-finals where they came within one set of reaching the finals. Idaho’s youngest player, freshman Sophie Vickers, said getting so close to the final is a great sign for the program.
“Nobody would have expected that at the beginning of the season so I think we should all be really proud,” Vickers said. “We are looking forward to next season and seeing how well we can do.”
Lozano said exceptional tournament performance motivated Idaho to beat these teams next year.
“It reflects that we have been doing the right things and working hard and we are at the same level as these players,” Lozano said.
Pollock said the tournament was a great learning experience for the Vandals.
The Vandals have had a full year in Pollock’s system and he said they now know what is expected of them and how he coaches. He also has seen the other teams a bit more, which will make it easier to prepare for next season.
Pollock said there are matches he would like to take back, but the season had more ups than downs.
“If they can keep that energy, keep that attitude and keep that work ethic going forward and we can add some more pieces to the puzzle, then for sure we can achieve the same if not significantly more next year,” Pollock said.
Idaho already signed four-star recruit Rita Bermudez — the No. 71 women’s tennis recruit in the nation according to tennisrecruiting.net — to a National Letter of Intent for the fall season and more recruiting is in the works.
“We are bringing in some strong pieces to add to the puzzle with some strong girls coming in,” Pollock said.
“The girls that are coming for next semester are really good so we are expecting to be even better next year with more strength and mentally more prepared as a team,” Lozano said.
The team was young with a new coach, but it didn’t show. It had a decent record, won several player of the week awards and finished strong.
“Next year, especially with the motivation of being so close this year, we should be definitely a contender next year for the WAC,” Pollock said.
Charles Crowley can be reached at [email protected]