Although the Idaho women’s tennis team has some experience in big matches during senior Sophie Vickers’ four-year career, its most recent victory over Sacramento State in the finals of the Big Sky Conference Tournament was perhaps the most impressive.
“Beating Sac State was huge, losing to them in the regular season as the underdogs,” Vickers said. “They have been such a successful team in the Big Sky, so it was huge for us to beat them and even more exciting to beat them in the finals of conference. It was probably the highlight of my college career.”
The Hornets had won the previous 13 Big Sky titles before the Vandals defeated them April 28.
This, when coupled with it being the first Big Sky title after winning the WAC last season, was an amazing feeling, senior Beatriz Flores said.
Flores and Vickers are two of the three seniors on the roster and they both have been with the program for four years.
The two of them have seen the program grow from a middle-of-the-pack team in the WAC to where it is now, preparing for its second consecutive NCAA Tournament.
“The program has come a long way since my freshman year,” Vickers said. “It’s pretty cool to be able to say that you saw the change and development. It’s an honor, really.”
It hasn’t been all smooth sailing for the duo though. They endured a number of coaching changes, and last season they didn’t even have an official head coach. Jeff Beaman, the men’s coach this season, coached both teams.
But this helped Vickers and Flores grow closer, Flores said.
The two of them, along with other returning players like No. 1 singles player Galina Bykova and fellow senior Emmie Marx, helped the team survive the trials of a new conference and new coach. Having that kind of leadership was huge for first year head coach Mariana Cobra.
“Obviously, they had a great year the year before I got here, so I think just seeing that competition, being ranked and going into the NCAAs for not only the seniors, but all of the returners, that definitely helped us,” Cobra said.
Though the win over Sacramento State was possibly the biggest win for the seniors on the team, Cobra saw a different match as the catalyst for the season.
The team had a breakthrough over the California trip over spring break. After losing to Cal Poly in a match that Cobra said she believes they should have won, the team had a complete mindset switch. While they lost the next match to Fresno State, that was the turning point, she said. But the win over the Hornets was the highlight of the season, Cobra said.
The team had competed tough all year against ranked opponents, which could prove vital as they prepare for the defending national champion UCLA Bruins in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament May 8 in Los Angeles.
“We have played a number of highly ranked teams and I think that was when we, as a team, really came out and competed our best,” Vickers said. “We want to show them that we can go out and compete with those tough teams — we definitely have performed well in those situations.”
Joshua Gamez can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @Gamez_VN