Idaho loses to Weber State, rebounds with win over Idaho State
Big Sky play continued for Idaho over the weekend with two road matches against Weber State and Idaho State Saturday and Sunday respectively.
The Vandals weren’t able to pick up a win against the Wildcats of Weber State in Ogden, Utah, falling 5-2, but they did manage to take down the Bengals of ISU in Pocatello, Idaho, 5-2.
File Photo by Nathan Romans | Argonaut
Freshman Felipe Fonseca returns a volley Oct. 1 during practice at
the Memorial Gym tennis courts. Fonseca was one of the two Vandals
to go undefeated in singles play over the weekend.
Playing without coach Jeff Beaman, who was absent for family matters, the team was led by assistant coach Art Hoomiratana in both matches. Only freshmen had success for the Vandals (12-8, 6-2) against one of the top Big Sky teams in Weber State (11-9, 6-1), as freshman Felipe Fonseca and Mark Kovacs were the only Idaho players to win their singles matches. Fonseca defeated Stefan Cooper of Weber State in the No. 2 singles match while Kovacs took down Hou-En Chen in the No. 5 singles match.
“Two freshmen played really well,” Hoomiratana said. “Mark and Felipe won all their singles matches. They competed really well. It was good to see them, as freshmen, continue to improve.”
Those two wins were nowhere near enough to beat the Wildcats and Idaho fell 5-2. Weber State and Idaho are both among the Big Sky’s best right now and the match could have major implications for the conference title. As it stands today, Weber State sits alone at the top of the Big Sky standings with a 6-1 record. Montana State is in second at 8-2, while the Vandals are tied with Montana at third with 6-2 records.
Idaho State (6-7, 4-4) on the other hand, is not in Big Sky title contention, though it isn’t completely out of it by any means. The Bengals’ chances took another hit Sunday as the Vandals crushed Idaho State.
It started in singles play where Idaho won all six singles matches. Junior Odon Barta took the No. 1 singles match, while Fonseca (No. 2) and Kovacs (No. 4) both won their singles matches to stay undefeated over the weekend.
The Bengals picked up wins in the No. 2 and No. 3 doubles matches, but the Vandals still were able to win the No. 1 doubles match over ISU. Ramos Salazar and Kovacs paired up and won the No. 1, while Barta and Fonseca’s pairing lost the No. 2 and Jackson Varney and Sam Jankovich’s No. 3 pairing wasn’t successful either. Nonetheless, Idaho took the match 5-2.
“It was good — guys bounced back,” Hoomiratana said of the win. “It was in Pocatello, which is 4,500 feet up in elevation, so the guys had to get used to that. They competed really hard and we were really happy with how they competed.”
The Vandals will get a much-needed week off after a slew of road trips and will return to action April 11 in a doubleheader. It will be Idaho’s first and only home matches this season and will feature two Big Sky opponents in Montana and North Dakota. Only three match ups remain after those matches before the Big Sky tournament in late April in Sacramento, California.
Ben Evensen can be reached at [email protected]