With the match in her hands and the entire team watching, Belen Barcenilla knew she had to make a big play.
Nicole Tong | Argonaut
Galina Bykova and Rita Bermudez prepare to receive a serve at the match in Pullman against Fresno State Thursday. The Vandals moved to 5-1 on the season with a 4-3 victory over the Bulldogs.
“I had a feeling this morning that I was going to play the last point,” Barcenilla said. “We have been waiting for this type of win for the whole semester.”
Barcenilla battled back from being down 4-2 in the second set and the Idaho women’s tennis team gained a 4-3 victory against the Fresno State Bulldogs in Pullman.
“A big thing we talked about is the opportunity to play against team that’s played some great competition and had some great wins,” Idaho coach Jeff Beaman said. “The girls understood how they needed to play after seeing the other girls play.”
Victoria Lozano and doubles partner Almudena Sanz won their match to give the Vandals the early lead.
Lozano then beat the Bulldogs’ Sophie Watts 7-6, 2-6, 6-1 in an intense No. 1 singles match. She led the Vandals to their fifth straight victory, after being swept by Washington State in their opening match.
After the teams traded two sets apiece, Lozano defeated Watts in singles play to put the Vandals on top 3-2.
In the final and deciding match, Barcenilla stormed back to force a third set after being down 4-2 in the second. She won the third set 6-2 to seal the victory for Idaho.
“We are playing like a team,” Barcenilla said. “We know that this is our season. We have great players. If I didn’t have my teammates on the floor watching, I couldn’t have won. It’s me and them.”
“They competed well,” Beaman said. “This is college tennis — so much of it is the effort and what you put into it.”
Idaho has another match at 3:30 p.m. Friday in Pullman against Utah State.
“They’re a tough team, especially at the upper positions,” Beaman said. “It is college tennis and they could surprise you.”
Conor Gleason can be reached at [email protected]