After another successful season, the Idaho men’s tennis team turned their sights onto the 2018-2019 season, with hopes of yet another Big Sky title on their minds.
However, just weeks before students and athletes alike start the semester both on the court and the classroom, serious changes in leadership altered the structure of a team that has dominated the conference in recent years.
At the helm, Carlos Longhi Neto, a now senior looking to lead his team to the postseason, will have to fight through adversity, after the men’s head coach Abid Akbar left the program to pursue his professional career, according to Idaho media relations.
Nevertheless, Longhi Neto spoke highly of his coach, and all the work he put in to make the program a powerhouse in the Big Sky Conference.
“All the titles that we have won over the past two years wouldn’t have happened without Coach Akbar,” he said. “He let us be free on the court, he trusts us enough to let us go for our shots and one thing that really makes him a tremendous coach is his ability to identify our strengths and work very hard to keep improve on something that we are good at. He is a truly leader.”
Sans coach, the Vandals will also have to perform without their star player from last year, Mark Kovacs.
The former Vandal competed with tenac- ity from the No. 1 singles position. Kovacs set an Idaho record with 96 career wins, and often provided the Vandals with crucial points in close contests. Longhi Neto said despite the absence of such a valuable asset, he believed the rest of his teammates would rise to the challenge.
“I’m feeling pretty good about this upcoming season, even though we lost the most valuable player in the team (Mark Kovacs) he was such a great asset for our team,” Longhi Neto said. But I trust 100 percent on the other guys, we have proven that we can be very competitive under pressure.”
One of those players Longhi Neto will be relying on is longtime friend Lucas Coutinho. The pair would sometimes meet on the court in their home country of Brazil, and soon found themselves both donning the Silver and Gold years later.
Longhi Neto and Coutinho will be two of three seniors on the Vandals’ team. Longhi Neto said along with Peter Shin, the older players will be tasked with stepping in heavier leadership roles, something he expects to take on in stride.
“I don’t feel the pressure at all, because I know that if we can keep up the intensity that we bring out to the matches, it will be very hard for any team to beat us,” he said. “I’m looking forward to another Big Sky title. The whole team has taken responsibility and pushing each other day by day to get better and earn the wins, we win together and we lose together.”
On the court, Idaho’s success has become well known within the conference. With a 10-1 conference record and a 15-8 regular season record, the Vandals finished first both in the regular season and conference standings within the Big Sky. The team also stood undefeated at home, despite many of the team’s matches being relocated to Lewiston because of weather concerns. The team also never lost more than two consecutive matches, and was only shut out twice.
Longhi Neto said with his experience team, he fully expects the Vandals to prevail both in the regular season and the Big Sky Championship.
“My goal for this season is definitely win both again, because if felt good at the end of the season,” he said. “I believe Northern Arizona will be or biggest challenge, their top line up is the same as last year, so they are very strong.”
Brandon Hill can be reached at [email protected]