Idaho beats Hawaii and Pacific, loses to Fresno State in Pacific Mountain Tournament
The five-game winning streak came to an end last weekend for the Idaho men’s tennis team, but the Vandals were able to pick up two wins in the Pacific Mountain Tournament to improve to 7-2 on the season.
Nathan Romans | Argonaut
Felipe Fonseca returns during practice Wednesday in the Kibbie Dome. Idaho plays LCSC/Whitman Saturday in Lewiston.
Friday morning in Stockton, California, Idaho experienced a tough loss to Fresno State to start the tournament hosted by Pacific University. The Bulldogs won all six singles matches and all three doubles matches to destroy the Vandals 4-0 — their worst loss this season so far. A number of matches went unfinished though, as junior Odon Barta, freshman Felipe Fonseca and senior Cristobal Ramos Salazar did not finish their matches, since the Bulldogs had secured the win.
Junior Jackson Varney and Ramos Salazar’s doubles match also did not finish. Varney lost his singles match to Eric Komati in the No. 2 singles match and freshman Mark Kovacs lost to Nikolas Papic in the No. 5 singles match.
Later in the day against Hawaii, Idaho got back on track with a 4-1 victory. Ramos-Salazar and Varney won the No. 1 doubles match, while Barta and Fonseca won the No. 2 match.
In singles against the Rainbow Warriors, Barta defeated Nils Schuhmaan in the No. 1 singles match. Fonseca beat Carter Lam in the No. 3 match while senior Alberto Sanz defeated Joakim Pinola in the No. 6 singles match.
“The guys rebounded well against a strong Hawaii team,” Idaho coach Jeff Beaman said. “I was happy with the way we competed and made adjustments. Cris (Ramos Salazar) and Jackson (Varney) continue to be outstanding in doubles. It was also great to see Alberto (Sanz) battle for his three sets and get his first win as a Vandal.”
Sunday, Idaho barely squeezed by Pacific for a 4-3 win. Doubles proved to be very difficult for Idaho as Varney and Ramos Salazar lost the No. 1 doubles match to Jose Chamba and Miguel Diaz. The No. 2 doubles match went to Pacific too, as Marlon Brand and Sam Verbeek beat Barta and Fonseca.
Luckily, the Vandals came back with strong singles performances and were able to capture the victory over 2-10 Pacific. Barta won the No. 1 singles match over Diaz, while Fonseca dispersed of Alex Hamilton in the No. 2 match. The No. 4 and No. 5 matches went to the Vandals as well. Ramos-Salazar beat Ashwin Sharma in the No. 4 match, while Kovacs beat Brand in the No. 5 match.
Idaho now prepares for a showdown at Portland Sunday, while playing Illinois State and Seattle U in a doubleheader in Seattle the next day. Conference play resumes March 13 against Sacramento State and March 14 against Montana State. Both games are in Spokane. The Vandals will play in Moscow on April 11 against Montana and North Dakota in a doubleheader.
Ben Evensen can be reached at [email protected]