The Idaho women’s tennis team went 2-1 in its final stretch of matches this season defeating Seattle University 6-1, losing to No. 66 San Jose State 4-0 before making one last stop in Lewiston on Sunday to defeat Texas State in intense fashion, 4-3. Friday’s match against Seattle U did not start out to the Vandals’ advantage. Another doubles win for Victoria Lozano and Almudena Sanz at the No. 1 position didn’t translate for Idaho, who would go on to lose at No. 2 and No. 3. The Vandals were able to redeem themselves after doubles play concluded with six singles wins, all in straight sets, to capture the victory.
“The players have really been stepping it up and showing leadership,” Idaho coach Myriam Sopel said. “It’s really good that they can lead by example and I’m really pleased with the effort of everybody overall.”
Victoria Lozano has been the answer for the Vandals lately, winning in doubles against Texas State, resulting in her eleventh consecutive doubles match win.
“In the last couple of matches Almu and I have been gaining confidence. In San Antonio, the last tournament we had was crucial for us in improving our games and improving our confidence,” Lozano said. “Now we’re in the rhythm we want, the pace we want and I hope we continue to that.”
Lozano’s streak was unaffected by the Vandals’ loss to San Jose State due to the Spartans capturing four singles matches in a row to clinch the win.
Lozano had a rough outing in singles with a 6-2, 6-1 loss to Klaudia Boczova. Boczova was named WAC Player of the Week for the second time last week, possessing a 12-3 record in singles and a 9-3 record in doubles.
Similar to the first match of the weekend against Seattle, the Vandals didn’t let losing in doubles destroy their chances of winning the match in a 4-3 victory Sunday against Texas State in Lewiston. The match was moved to the indoor courts at Lewis-Clark State College due to the extreme weather conditions in Moscow.
“We lost the doubles point in the deciding match, in the tie-breaker and we had match point,” Idaho coach Myriam Sopel said. “It was a tough doubles point. But we responded really well after losing a tight doubles point. We played really smart tennis and showed some great tenacity on all courts.”
Lozano continued her hot streak with a win in singles to top off her outstanding doubles play this month. Constance Alexander, Belen Barcenilla and Bety Flores all won in singles to earn the Vandals their fourth WAC win. Barcenilla fought especially hard with a three-set win at No .4 singles.
Now sitting in fourth place in the WAC at 11-11, behind Louisiana Tech, San Jose State and first-place Denver, the Vandals will play their last match of the season against former conference foe Utah State Saturday in Logan, Utah. The Aggies are 5-12, coming off three consecutive losses as the Vandals look to finish off the season with a winning record going into the WAC Tournament in Denver starting April 26.
Aaron Wolfe can be reached at [email protected]