The Idaho men’s tennis team, currently 5-6 on the season, has endured an up and down spring. After starting the season 3-1, they endured a brutal five-match losing streak.
“We were just in bad shape — we are pushing hard now,” senior Artemiy Nikitin said.
Nikitin missed a few matches early in spring season for personal reasons, but now he is back and playing well in No. 1 singles. He beat Missouri-Kansas City’s Mike Psarros 6-2, 6-2 at No. 1 singles last Saturday.
Led by the strong play of Nikitin, the team is riding a two-match winning streak as it prepares to play Utah State Friday in Logan, Utah, and BYU Saturday in Provo, Utah.
“Getting two wins should help get the confidence back and should get the guys fired up,” Idaho coach Jeff Beaman said.
But it’s not all positive for the Vandals going into this weekend. Andrew Zedde, Nikitin’s usual doubles partner, is still recovering from an elbow injury sustained in the Feb. 20 victory over Gonzaga.
“It’s getting better and hopefully he’s ready to play — but the key is to be healthy, so we aren’t going to push anything,” Beaman said. “We’ve got a lot of depth and a lot of talent. We have guys who aren’t in the lineup and would do anything to get that chance. So if there are injuries or other issues, we’ve got options.”
Along with Nikitin, Cristobal Ramos Salazar, Jose Bendeck and Cesar Torres have also turned in great spring campaigns thus far. Bendeck and Ramos Salazar haven’t dropped a match in doubles play so far this spring.
The Vandals will need Nikitin and the rest of the squad to continue playing at a high level, if they hope to keep their winning streak alive this weekend.
They are especially familiar with Utah State, since they were formerly a conference foe before they joined the Mountain West in 2013.
“They are a team we (play) at fall tournaments. We are really familiar with them playing them every year since I’ve been at Idaho,” Beaman said.
Joshua Gamez can be reached at [email protected]