One of the most prolific seasons in Idaho men’s tennis history came to an abrupt end this past weekend.
The No. 2 seed Vandals fell to No. 1-seeded Denver 4-0 in the championship match of the Western Athletic Conference Tournament Sunday in Denver.
For the second time in two seasons, Idaho came up just short in its attempt to capture the program’s first WAC title. Idaho lost to Fresno State in the final match one year ago.
With the win, Denver earned an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament May 16-27 in Urbana, Ill.
Idaho ended its season with a 21-7 overall record, the best in at least 20 years for the program.
Beaman said falling short of the title for the second straight year was difficult to swallow, but he said he told the team they should be proud of how much they’ve accomplished in the last three months.
“I just told the guys: in life, you get opportunities – some good and some bad. You just have to put it all out there,” Beaman said.
Idaho seemed poised to make school history after an impressive performance in its first match of the tournament. After losing four of its last six matches of the regular season, Idaho seemed to regain its winning form in the semifinal match against Texas-San Antonio on Saturday, which the Vandals won 4-2. UTSA beat the Vandals 4-3 in Idaho’s last regular season match, but this time Idaho played with the same lineup it had for most of the season before injuries shook up the roster.
Seniors Abid Akbar and Marius Cirstea paired up for the first time in six matches at the No. 1 doubles spot, where they earned an 8-5 victory. Junior Jose Bendeck and sophomore Cristobal Ramos Salazar lost 8-5 at No. 2, but sophomores Dmitry Perevoshchikov and Cesar Torres clinched the point by winning the No. 3 match 8-5.
Ramos Salazar helped Idaho get off to a strong start in the singles matches by cruising to a two-set win at No. 6. Then UTSA went on to win the next two matches after Cirstea lost at No. 3 and Perevoshchikov fell at No. 1. The Vandals sealed the victory thanks to Bendeck’s win at No. 4 and Torres’ win at No. 5.
Idaho then ran into a buzz saw on Sunday in the championship match against Denver. After winning the doubles point, the Pioneers put the Vandals away quickly by winning three straight singles matches.
Idaho’s only victory came during the No. 1 doubles match when Akbar and Cirstea earned an 8-5 win. Perevoshchikov and Torres lost 8-4 at No. 3 and Bendeck and Ramos Salazar were narrowly edged out 9-8 at No. 2.
Beaman said barely losing the doubles point “definitely changed the whole dynamic of the match.”
“I think that some of the air went out of their sails after that doubles match,” Beaman said.
With the doubles point, Denver wasted no time winning the necessary three singles matches to seal the championship. Ramos Salazar lost at No. 6, Perevoshchikov fell at No. 1 and Cirstea lost at No. 3. All matches finished in two sets. The No. 2, No. 4 and No. 5 matches went unfinished.
Idaho received good news before the tournament when Beaman and several of the Vandals were honored by the WAC. Beaman won WAC Coach of the Year honors for the first time in his seven years as head coach at Idaho. Perevoshchikov and Akbar were both named first-team All-WAC honors in singles, and Akbar and Cirstea won first-team All-WAC honors in doubles after going undefeated in WAC play. Cirstea and Bendeck made second-team All-WAC in singles. Bendeck and Ramos Salazar made the second team in doubles.
Anthony Kuipers can be reached at [email protected].