Idaho travels to Pacific Northwest to play three games in two days
Playing on the road is something the Idaho men’s tennis team is accustomed to this year, as the Vandals will play three more games this weekend in the Pacific Northwest. Sunday, Idaho plays the Portland Pilots, followed with a doubleheader the next day up Interstate 5 in Seattle against Illinois State and Seattle U.
“It will really be a test of where (the players) are at physically and mentally,” Idaho coach Jeff Beaman said. “It’s three tough matches in a short time period, including a lot of driving. We schedule like this to push the guys. It’s good competition, but every match will be a battle, and it will continually get harder due to the physical and mental wear and tear without the recovery time.”
File photo by Nathan Romans | Argonaut
Freshman Felipe Fonseca returns a volley during practice Feb. 4 in the Kibbie Dome. Idaho plays Portland Sunday in Portland, followed by Monday matchups against Illinois State and Seattle U.
The Vandals currently sit at 7-2 on the season after going 2-1 in the Pacific Mountain Invitational last weekend in Stockton, California. Idaho opened with a 4-0 loss to Fresno State before beating Hawaii 4-1 and Pacific 4-3.
Portland is 4-1 on the year and historically has been a good program. The Pilots defeated Seattle U and Portland State in shutouts and also defeated No. 68 East Tennessee State earlier this year. The team’s one loss came to No. 53 Washington Feb. 20.
“They’re historically a really tough team,” Beaman said of Portland. “This year they are undefeated other than a loss to a ranked Washington team. It will be a battle. Really tough match on their home court, and will be a good way to see how our guys are doing at the midway point of the season.”
Illinois State is the matchup the next morning in Seattle, and the Redbirds will be an interesting challenge for Idaho. They are 4-6 on the year with losses to Oklahoma State, Louisville, Western Michigan, Drake and Tulsa twice. Illinois State has wins over Oral Roberts, Indiana University–Purdue University Fort Wayne, Chicago State and Eastern Illinois on the year.
“We’re not that familiar with (Illinois State),” Beaman said. “Idaho has never played them in my time at Idaho. They’ve had some mixed results this year, so that one we really don’t know a lot about going into it.”
The weekend series will end later the same day against former WAC foe, Seattle U.
“Seattle U, that’s a team we play once or twice every year for the past few years,” Beaman said. “They’re a program that continues to get better every year. They are a similar level to their team last year, so that’s another tough match at their place.”
The Redhawks of Seattle U come into the matchup struggling at 2-7. Losses to No. 44 Oregon, Portland, Wisconsin, Hawaii, Montana State, Air Force and Abilene Christian show how difficult this team’s schedule has been. SU has wins over Eastern Washington and Northern Colorado — two Big Sky members.
Ben Evensen can be reached at [email protected]