Five months after winning the WAC Championship, the Idaho women’s tennis team begins its season with a few changes from last year.
Nathan Romans | Argonaut
Junior Belen Barcenilla practices Wednesday at the Memorial Gym Tennis Courts. Barcenilla will compete Friday to Sunday in the Cougar Classic in Pullman.
The Vandals hired a new coach over the summer. Mariana Cobra, who previously coached Northern Iowa, took over for former Director of Tennis Jeff Beaman in June. Idaho is also facing new opponents this season, as it left the WAC last season to rejoin the Big Sky. Idaho begins its fall tournament schedule Friday when the team travels to Pullman for the Cougar Classic.
The Vandals lost seniors Vicky Lozano and Almudena Sanz at their No. 1 and No. 2 positions, but signed two transfer students, Claire Yang and Emmie Marx to fill the void. Marx, a senior who hails from Mossel Bay, South Africa, played her last three seasons at Illinois State.
“Emmie (Marx) comes in and she already has a lot of leadership skills,” Cobra said. “She’s ready to step up. I think she’s going to be top of our lineup and she’s really going to help us in doubles.”
Yang, a transfer student from Fresno State, was ranked as high as No. 41 in the nation in doubles play last season. She helped the Bulldogs to a 2014 Mountain West Championship and a NCAA Tournament appearance.
Idaho also signed freshman Lucia Badillos from La Rioja, Spain. She won the Senior Rio State Championships in November of 2013.
“I think we brought in three really good players,” Cobra said. “I don’t think the girls think it’s a rebuilding year. I think last year, winning the WAC was just really exciting for them to come back this year and get ready to work.”
Marx joins fellow seniors Beatriz Flores and Sophie Vickers as the Vandals try to repeat last season with another conference championship.
Vickers said she’s excited to step in as a senior to lead the team.
“I think between the three of us, we just need to take a bit of a leadership role both on and off the court,” Vickers said. “Everything is looking good so far.”
The Vandals also welcome back juniors Rita Bermudez and Belen Barcenilla and sophomore Galina Bykova in addition to Vickers and Flores to round out the Idaho roster.
Nathan Romans | Argonaut
“The team chemistry is really good right now,” Cobra said. “I foresee our team to be just as good as last year, if not better.”
Vickers said the team hasn’t played matches for a few months, so the players are excited to see all their hard work from practice pay off on the court. She said it will be difficult to win the Big Sky, especially since Idaho is the newcomer.
“Off the win last year, everyone is pretty excited and pretty motivated to win conference again,” Vickers said. “It’s going to be different going to the Big Sky and will be interesting playing against new opposition.”
Conor Gleason can be reached at [email protected]