The Indoor National Championship was within their grasp, and all it took was one loss to take that opportunity away from Idaho doubles pairing, seniors Marius Cirstea and Abid Akbar.
“You have the chance to be national champions and just to get that chance, and then to go out and not perform at your highest level is disappointing,” Idaho Director of Tennis Jeff Beaman said.
The loss came Thursday morning, in the first round of the tournament held at the Billy Jean King National Tennis Center in New York. The men had a tough draw in the first round and faced brothers Riki and Ben McLachlan from the University of California-Berkeley. After a slow start, Cirstea and Akbar attempted to come back, but it was too much and they lost 8-4.
“They were definitely a tough team — Cal is a solid tennis program. I think they were more confident on the court at first,” Akbar said. “We started off a little slow, a little shaky. I think they were more at ease than us being in the nationals because they have been there.”
Akbar said he and Cirstea improved as the match went on, but it was the McLachlan brothers’ solidity throughout the match that earned them the win.
The Cal pairing is a solid team, with Ben being the No. 16 ranked singles player in the nation and Northwest Region Singles Champion. After defeating Cirstea and Akbar, they went on to beat a top team from Georgia Tech, who came in fresh off of a first round bye. Next they face the No. 3 seed from Virginia.
This seemed like a tough draw but in a tournament at this high of a level, there are no poor teams, which means there are no easy draws.
“Even the No. 1 team in the nation, if they want to win, they have to play four very tough matches and play very hard,” Akbar said.
It all comes down to how teams match up against each other. Akbar said this matchup was a bad one for them because their opponents didn’t mind the Vandals’ pace and were able to keep up with it.
Beaman said there were definitely some nerves involved, and his pairing could have played better, even considering their tough opponents.
“We have the ability to go out and play big and beat anybody, but if we’re not, if both guys aren’t out there playing big and confident then you can have some rough days,” Beaman said. “If we play our best we can definitely win that match, but at this level if you start slow or you’re a little off, any team here is going to take it to you.”
Beaman said they had a chance to break at one point, but Akbar wasn’t holding his serve and with Akbar and Cirstea, whose biggest strength is their serve, it affects everything. If Akbar doesn’t serve well, that affects Cirstea at the net and vice-versa.
Now that the first match jitters are out of the way, the team hopes for a better showing when they start consolation play tomorrow.
Beaman said they are going to go out and hit a few balls tonight and show up mentally full-force tomorrow for what will be a tough consolation bracket.
“You can look at it as the losers draw but you are playing some very high quality opponents on the loser side,” Beaman said.
Akbar said the tough first match will help them to come out and play better in their first consolation match. Beaman, Akbar and Cirstea would all love to pick up some big wins against some top teams.
“They don’t have to get better, they have to play at their top level and they will be ranked in the spring. They will possibly earn a chance to go to outdoor national championships, but they got to step it up a little bit,” Beaman said.
Charles Crowley can be reached at [email protected]
Philip Vukelich | Argonaut
Marius Cirstea volleys a shot at practice Monday at the Memorial Gym tennis courts. Cirstea and doubles partner Abid Akbar are competing in the National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships Thursday.