What started as a two-game skid quickly transformed into familiar territory for Idaho women’s tennis, as the Silver and Gold cruised past Portland State Saturday in Vancouver, Washington.
The 6-1 victory keeps the Vandals undefeated in the Big Sky Conference, earning them the top spot in the standings.
Marianna Petrei
Idaho swept the doubles point in a matter of moments, as seniors Marianna Petrei and Maria Tavares notched a 6-3 win over Portland State’s Jacinta Milenkoski and Lotti Meszaros.
A follow-up victory by sophomore Marta Magalhaes and freshman Anna Stefani closed the deal, putting the Vandals in front 1-0 heading into singles.
A potential comeback looked to be possible on court No. 3, as Eszter Zador claimed the upper hand against Stefani for the first singles match of the day. The dominating 6-2, 6-1 victory put the Vikings right back into the match, but the momentum didn’t last long.
Idaho would go on to win the remaining five singles matches, highlighted by a three-set nail biter between Tavares and Mszaros to close out the day.
Idaho (9-4, 5-0 BSC) will come back to the Palouse April 5 for a matchup against Montana. While the Grizzlies have struggled in non-conference play, they have dropped just one match out of four in conference play.
While the women dominated in Washington, the men suffered a critical 2-5 conference loss to Montana. The men’s team, (4-10, 1-3) have just six conferences matches remaining before the Big Sky Championships. The Vandals will need to rank in the top six if they want to reach the postseason, three spots away and two games away from their current rank of 9th.
Inside the Lewis and Clark State Tennis Center Saturday, Idaho jumped out to an early lead in doubles, with seniors Carlos Longhi Neto and Lucas Coutinho leading the charge. The pair defeated their opponents 6-4, just as the rest of the Idaho doubles squad put up decisive victories on the other two courts.
A doubles sweep was the highlight of the day for Idaho, however. Coutinho and freshman Valentin Popescu dropped their singles matches to give the Grizzlies a one-point advantage.
The lone singles point for Idaho came from freshman Bruno Casino on court No. 6. The Idaho newcomer hung with Pontus Hallgren in a back-and-forth battle, eventually winning 6-4, 4-6, 10-8.
Idaho will hit the road this weekend, taking on Weber State Saturday in Ogden, Utah and Idaho State Sunday in Pocatello.
Brandon Hill can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @brandonmtnhill