PORTLAND, Ore.—The Idaho men's tennis team closed out the regular season in convincing fashion on Saturday. The Vandals swept Portland State, 7-0, finishing off the season with a 9-2 Big Sky record.

The Silver and Gold will be the No. 2 seed at next week's Big Sky Tournament, earning an automatic spot in the semifinals. The Vandals will open the tournament on April 28.

The Vandals used a 3-0 showing in doubles to take the early lead. Lucas Coutinho and Esteban Santibanez opened the day with a 6-1 win at No. 2 doubles. Felipe Fonseca and Guilherme Scarpelli picked up their eighth win of the season with a 6-2 decision at No. 3. Mark Kovacs and Carlos Longhi Neto closed out the session with a 7-6 triumph at No. 1.

Idaho finished off all but one singles match in straight sets. The bottom three slots had a strong showing in singles. Coutinho opened individual play with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Yousef Abdo at No. 5. Shin closed out his match at No. 6, 6-2, 6-3. Santibanez earned his ninth conference win with a 6-3, 6-1 win at No. 4.

Idaho's top three closed out the sweep. Longhi Neto put together a 6-4, 6-4 win at No. 3. Kovacs put Idaho up 6-0 with his 6-3, 7-6 win over Nathan Boniel at No. 1. Fonseca recorded his team leading 18th win of the season, 6-4, 1-6, 6-2, to close out the day at No. 2.

Idaho will look for its third straight trip to the Big Sky Championship match next week in Phoenix, Ariz. The Vandals won the conference in 2015 and came within a point of repeating in 2016.
 

Singles competition

1. Kovacs, Mark (UI) def. BONIEL, Nathan (PSU) 6-3, 7-6

2. Fonseca, Felipe (UI) def. EDWARDS, Tommy (PSU) 6-4, 1-6, 6-2

3. Longhi Neto, Carlos (UI) def. GOLDNER, Scott (PSU) 6-4, 6-4

4. Santibanez, Esteban (UI) def. LOPEZ, Ethan (PSU) 6-3, 6-1

5. Coutinho,Lucas (UI) def. ABDO, Yousef (PSU) 6-2, 6-4

6. Shin, Peter (UI) def. LARSON, Sam (PSU) 6-2, 6-3

 

Doubles competition

1. Kovacs, Mark/Longhi Neto, Carlos (UI) def. BONIEL, Nathan/EDWARDS, Tommy (PSU) 7-6

2. Coutinho,Lucas/Santibanez, Esteban (UI) def. LOPEZ, Ethan/LARSON, Sam (PSU) 6-1

3. Fonseca, Felipe/Scarpelli, Guilherme (UI) def. GOLDNER, Scott/ABDO, Yousef (PSU) 6-2

 

Match Notes

Idaho 14-7, 9-2 BSC

Portland State 4-14, 2-9 BSC