A 7-0 loss to Washington State Saturday didn’t stop the Idaho women’s tennis team from bringing the pressure in the team’s next match.
In Sunday’s Big Sky Conference season opener, the Vandals rallied from losing two doubles matches to defeat Montana State 5-2 in Pullman, Washington.
Sophomore Lucia Badillos clinched Idaho’s conference opener with a triumphant two set win (6-2, 6-2) over Shelby Cerkovnik on the No. 5 court.
Idaho won five out of their six singles matches.
Idaho coach Mariana Cobra said the team’s competitiveness was shown in Sunday’s win.
“We showed our toughness today,” Cobra said. “We did not get the doubles point, despite our strong efforts. It was good to see the team fight back in singles and continue to play hard the entire match.”
The Bobcats began the day by taking two out of the three doubles matches as Jessica Brycki and Angelina Phillppova emerged with a 6-1 win over Belen Barcenilla and Maria Tavares.
Laura Middel and Naomi Holopainen defeated Idaho’s Claire Yang and Rita Bermudez in a 6-2 effort. The two doubles victories gave Montana State an initial 1-0 lead over Idaho.
Badillos and Ana Batiri’s 6-4 win in the third doubles match prevented Montana State’s Molly Crum and Linda Vink from sweeping doubles.
“Doubles is the hardest and the last thing that comes together as a team,” Cobra said. “We have four first-years with us, so our doubles combination is going to be the trickiest part of our team and that’s exactly what I expected.”
“For the next couple of weeks before we go to Oregon, we’re going to spending a lot of time on double pairings and putting down our game for doubles,” Cobra said.
In singles, Idaho had a stretch of dominating play, which began with freshman Marianna Petrei defeating Laura Middel (6-1, 6-1) to earn Idaho’s first point Sunday.
A win by Tavares over Holopainen gave Idaho the lead for good, as the freshman won her match in three sets (5-7, 6-4, 6-4). Senior Rita Bermudez defeated Vink in two sets (6-1, 6-4) to wrap up Idaho’s 5-2 victory over the Bobcats.
Cobra said Idaho’s singles competition was an indication of the depth of the team Sunday. Cobra also said that her team should not underestimate their opponents, especially during conference plays.
“Everyone in the Big Sky wants to beat Idaho,” Cobra said. “It doesn’t matter if Montana State was picked seventh or we were picked second, Montana State competed very well. We have to be able to play our opponents and be ready to put ourselves in position to play.”
In the preseason Big Sky poll, Idaho was picked to finish second behind Sacramento State by conference coaches. The Vandals had 110 votes, eight fewer than the Hornets.
Last season, Idaho finished the spring season with a 10-1 record and a Big Sky Conference championship after defeating Sacramento State.
The Vandals title ended the Hornets 13-year championship run.
The Vandals will have two weeks of rest until the team’s next match against 62nd-ranked Oregon Jan. 30 at 10 a.m. in Eugene, Oregon. The match will mark Idaho’s second Pac-12 Conference opponent in as many matches this spring.
Luis Torres can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @TheLTFiles