The Idaho women’s tennis team fell to Gonzaga 3-4 Friday afternoon, but turned things around Sunday and beat Northern Colorado 7-0.
Despite playing a powerful opponent, the Vandals kept pace with Gonzaga during their match in Spokane.
Idaho gained an early lead in doubles competition. Sophomore Marianna Petrei and junior Lucia Badillos worked together to get the first point of the day.
Sophomore Maria Tavares and junior Ana Batiri later clinched Idaho’s doubles victory after edging out their opponents 7-6.
Up 1-0, Gonzaga took to the singles courts to try and regain the lead. Sophomore Sophia Whittle earned the first point for the Bulldogs after defeating Badillos 7-5, 6-1.
Idaho notched two more victories to keep the Bulldogs at bay. Sophomore Maria Tavares overcame junior Alex Bourguignon in a contested three-set match and Petrei delivered on the No. 1 court with a tie-breaking win over sophomore Apollo Nevada.
With a 3-1 lead, the Vandals needed one more point to put Gonzaga away. However, the undefeated Bulldogs refused to go down without a fight. Three highly contested matches would determine the fate for both schools.
Freshman Jessica Brzozowska faced off against sophomore Graciela Rosas on court No. 3. Brzozowska brought the opening set to a tiebreaker, but could not keep up. However, she did rebound in the second set to win 6-4. Rosas took control from there to defeat Brzozowka in the third set 6-0.
On court No. 6, freshman Shion Watabe played in an even more competitive match against sophomore Domonique Garley. After a 6-3 loss in the first set, Watabe came back to force a tie-breaker in the second, which she won 7-6. In the final set, the two again went to a tiebreaker. This time, Garley came out on top.
With the score tied 3-3, it came down to Batiri facing off against freshman Haruna Tsuruta on court No. 5. Batiri dropped the first set 6-4, won the second 6-3. The final set ended with Tsurata winning in a tiebreaker.
After the close loss to Gonzaga, Idaho returned home to prepare for Northern Colorado.
The Vandals again opened with a doubles victory when all three teams defeated their opponents.
In singles, Petrei made a statement after her 6-0, 6-0 win. Brzozowska followed suit, winning 6-0, 6-1.
The third match in singles play would be the last of the day for both teams. Badillos quickly took down her opponent 6-2, 6-0, clinching the Big Sky win for Idaho.
Despite the match being decided, play continued on the other courts. Tavares won her match on the fourth court 6-1, 6-4. Senior Claire Yang made an appearance after being absent from the match against Gonzaga and won 6-1, 6-2. Finally, Watabe played in a back-and-forth match, but also came out with a win, completing the Vandal’s sweep of the Bears.
Idaho (5-3, 3-0 BSC) stays at home next week to take on North Dakota 4 p.m. Feb. 24.
Brandon Hill can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @brandonmtnhill