As spring sports are nearing an end, here’s a look at where Idaho tennis, golf and track and field have been doing.
Men’s Tennis
Men’s Tennis approaches the end of their regular season and looks forward to the 2024 Big Sky Tournament held in Phoenix, Arizona. After back-to-back championship seasons in 2022 and 2023, this season has been disappointing with the team sitting at a current 5-13 record with one match left before the championship tournament. Matteo Masala leads the Vandals with a 7-6 record. The Men’s Tennis team’s last match will be against Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff on April 20 at 9 a.m.
Women’s Tennis
The Women’s Tennis team finished the regular season with a 2-5 loss to Idaho State. They look ahead to the Big Sky Championship sitting at a 9-9 overall record. While the team has had a mostly average season, Naomi Schraeder leads the team with a 13-4 singles record and is 9-1 in the last 10 matches. Lena Beckx and Rachelle Starreveld also have an 11-6 record in doubles play. The Women’s Tennis Big Sky Championship Tournament starts April 25 and runs through April 27 in Phoenix, Arizona, at the Phoenix Tennis Center.
Women’s Golf
Women’s golf finished sixth in the Big Sky championship tournament. The tournament, hosted at Wigwam Golf Course in Arizona, took place on Monday, April 15 through Wednesday, April 17.
Emma Kang gave the best Vandal showing and tied for 13th. She shot 217 over three rounds.
The Vandals are coming off their best performance of the season. Idaho tied for third at the Montana State Bobcat Desert Classic at the Golf Club of the Estrella in Goodyear, Arizona, last week, with three Vandals finishing in the top 20. The performance was the best of any Big Sky team at the tournament. They also finished ahead of Washington State University and Boise State University.
Yvonne Vinceri, a junior out of Portland, Oregon, finished the tournament fifth overall, with her low round of 69 coming in during the second round. Freshman Emma Kang showed a strong first round at 69 but finished the classic at 13th. Jenna Bruggeman led the team with a low score of 68 in her second round but ultimately finished tied for 20th.
The team’s strong showing at the Bobcat Desert Classic set them up for the Big Sky championship. Vinceri will start in the No. 1 spot following her fifth-place finish. Kang will start as No. 2 and Bruggeman will be at No. 3.
Zoe Newell will be at the No. 4 spot and Boram Jung will play as the No. 5. Emma Heyman will be the alternate.
Track and Field
Idaho track and field transitioned from a strong indoor season, with the men finishing third in the Big Sky and the women finishing fourth, to an outdoor season full of high hopes and shortcomings.
The team started the season with 12 first place finishes at the Whitworth’s Buc Scoring Invite. Senior Lorenze Herrmann set a course record in the 1500-meter at 3:46:22, a time that was the seventh-fastest in the nation.
The other first-place finishes were in the 4×100-meter men’s relay, the 100-meter women’s hurdles, men and women’s high jump, women’s 400 meter, men’s 100 meter, men’s and women’s 400-meter hurdles, men’s shotput and men’s discus.
Even though the Vandals dominated almost every event at the opening meet, the rest of the season has not reached that level. The rest of the season has been full of Idaho records and athlete personal bests, but few first-place finishes.
The team recorded 16 personal best records at the Whitworth Peace Meet on April 5, but brought home first place in just five events–the women’s 100-meter, women’s 3000-meter steeplechase, men’s long jump, men’s shotput and the women’s 400-meter.
The Vandals competed in four meets from April 11-13, and brought home first place in just the women’s 3000-meter steeplechase.
Idaho looks to get back on the podium as they return to the Palouse on Saturday, April 20 at the Cougar Classic at Washington State University.
Jack DeWitt and Joanna Hayes can be reached at [email protected]