The Idaho women’s tennis team will kick off the season for their first match just seven miles away at Washington State University with returning regional standouts and a brand new coach.
Philip Vukelich | Argonaut
Almudena Sanz, junior, practices volleys with a teammate Thursday in the Kibbie Dome. Idaho opens its season Saturday at WSU.
“I knew already that we have really good players and really good potential to be even ranked as a team and as individuals,” coach Myriam Sopel said.
One player who particularly stood out last season was junior Almudena Sanz.
Sanz considers singles to have always been her specialty since she started playing tennis in Spain. Last year she won second-team All-WAC honors.
Junior Victoria Lozano from Guadalajara, Mexico, is another player to watch. She made program history with 24 combined wins last year, tying for eighth-most in a singles season.
Sanz was ranked tenth in the region in doubles with Lozano, earning first team All-WAC honors.
“I love to have that ranking because that means I’m improving in doubles, improving my skills. I’m excited to get success and continue improving this semester,” Sanz said.
Sanz also won seven consecutive doubles matches from Jan. 29 to Feb. 18 with doubles partner Sophie Vickers, a sophomore originally from Melbourne, Australia.
Vickers said there’s still room for improvement in her doubles game despite that accomplishment.
“Doubles is a really important component of our dual matches. If we can get the doubles point under our belt it helps a lot,” Vickers said.
Both players expressed their desire to concentrate on the mental aspects of the game as well.
“I’m feeling more confident, last season being a freshman was kind of the unexpected and the unknowing, coming into this season I want to work on playing consistently well over matches,” Vickers said.
For Sanz, concentration and consistency go hand-in-hand.
“I really want to work on my concentration to be focused on the whole match. I have my ups and downs. I need to be consistent, that’s my main goal for this semester,” Sanz said.
As a whole, coach Sopel said she has been pleased with everybody and their ability to come together as a team, and that Saturday should be a good match up.
“We feel prepared, we’ve been hitting the ground running really hard and practicing and conditioning for the past two weeks. The work will pay off for sure. This season-opener is going to be a tough challenge but we’re ready for it,” Sopel said.
Washington State University women’s tennis is ranked No. 32 in the nation this year. Last year, the Cougars defeated Idaho 7-0.
As for the single and doubles line-ups this season, Sopel said that she has a pretty good idea but nothing has been set in stone.
Aaron Wolfe can be reached at [email protected]