Idaho will play No. 7 seed USC for second straight NCAA Tournament
The Idaho men’s tennis team heads back to the NCAA Tournament May 8, and for the second straight year will play in Los Angles against No. 7 USC.
The Trojans beat Idaho en route to a national championship last year. It’s a new year though, and both the Vandals and USC, ranked No. 8 in the nation, are fresh off conference championships.
“It’s good to go back and play a very competitive team,” Idaho coach Jeff Beaman said. “It’s someone that we had some competitive matches against last year and it’s always exciting to go out and compete against the best.”
The best is right. USC (22-4) has won a record 21 national championships, including five of the last six. The Trojans even won the first men’s tennis national championship in 1946 and this will be their ninth straight tournament appearance. Five players in USC’s top six return from last year’s championship squad, including Eric Johnson who was named to the NCAA All-Tournament team last year. They also feature Roberto Quiroz and Yannick Hanfmann, the No. 3 doubles team in the country.
Playing against such a tough team will be difficult for Idaho (16-11), but senior Cristobal Ramos Salazar said he thinks the team is ready.
“It is going to be a challenge,” Ramos Salazar said. “We are prepared for it though. Me as a senior, I’ve been there. The first time I went (to Los Angeles) I was a little bit nervous. Now, just go there and play as hard as you can. We’re playing against one of the best teams in the nation, so yeah, it is going to be a challenge, but it is exciting.”
The winner of the game will play the winner of San Diego (23-4) and San Diego State (18-8) in the second round, and will play whomever comes out of Stanford, Tennessee, South Carolina State and No. 10 seed Duke in the Sweet 16. No. 2 Baylor, No. 15 Virginia Tech, Boise State and LSU highlight the possible Elite 8 matchups.
The Vandals are riding a hot streak right now after winning the Big Sky Championship in just the team’s first year in the conference after an 18-year dabble in the Big West and WAC. After earning the No. 2 seed in the Big Sky Tournament, the Vandals clinched a first-round bye. They defeated No. 4 seed Montana State in the second round and ended No. 6 Northern Arizona’s dreams in the championship after the Lumberjacks had upset No. 3 Montana and No. 1 Weber State in the two prior rounds.
USC isn’t a Big Sky school though, and will be the toughest team Idaho has faced all season by far.
“Last year we had a good matchup in No. 1 doubles,” Ramos Salazar said. “And I’m planning on having the same kind of mentality going into the match and also in singles.”
Ben Evensen can be reached at [email protected]