Thanks to strong doubles, Idaho sits near top of standings
Thanks to dominant doubles play, the Idaho women’s tennis team finds itself near the top of the Big Sky with a 4-3 record.
Nate Mattson | Argonaut
Junior Belen Barcenilla tosses a serve in practice Wednesday at the tennis courts in the Kibbie Dome. The Vandals play at Eastern Washington Saturday.
The strong doubles play, which won Idaho the doubles point in six of seven matches this spring, has been led by senior Emmie Marx and sophomore Galina Bykova.
Idaho will try to keep its solid record alive as the team heads into this weekend for a pair of conference matches against Eastern Washington and North Dakota.
Both opponents were picked to finish below the Vandals in the Big Sky Preseason Coaches Poll, so both teams will be looking to knock off the Vandals.
“We have two conference matches back-to-back, so we’ve just got to hope that we’re ready to compete,” Idaho coach Mariana Cobra said. “Both of those teams were picked below us, so they obviously want to beat us, so we’ve got to make sure we are ready to really fight and compete this weekend.”
Idaho defeated the Eagles 6-1 earlier this spring, but that doesn’t mean the team will take their opponent lightly, Cobra said.
Despite the success Bykova and Marx have had this season, some of which has been as a duo, they might not play together every match.
Cobra said she likes how well the two of them play together, but the overall depth of the team means she can mix them up with other teammates if she wants to.
“I don’t know if I will be fitting in Emmie (Marx) and Galina (Bykova) both at the same time,” Cobra said. “They are both very good doubles players so maybe they may be mixed in with somebody else. But our depth definitely helps.”
The changing up of the lineups has been a continued theme for the team throughout the spring season. The lineup, which is rarely the same from week to week, is usually figured out during practice throughout the week, Cobra said.
Unlike every other week this season, this week’s practices started later than previous weeks. With the team not competing until Saturday as opposed to Friday as usual, Cobra said she gave the team two days off early in the week instead of one in an attempt to keep them fresh going into the weekend.
This will be the first weekend this season the Vandals compete in back-to-back matches.
Cobra said the team must get ready to compete on back-to-back days later in the season when the conference and NCAA tournaments take place.
Joshua Gamez can be reached at [email protected]