Women's Tennis | 04/22/2017

MOSCOW, Idaho—The Idaho women's tennis team played on its home courts for the first time this season on Saturday, hosting the Montana Grizzlies. The Vandals swept the board, taking the second to last regular season contest 7-0.

It took Idaho all of just 40 minutes to earn the day's first point. The Vandals went 6-2 across all three courts to earn the point. The pairing of Maria Tavares and Jessica Brzozowska picked up its second win of the season at No. 2. Senior Claire Yang teamed with freshman Shion Watabe at No. 2, also earning the duo's second win on the season. Marianna Petrei and Lucia Badillos improved to 6-1 in Big Sky play, winning the final match at No.1.

"It was nice to be out and playing on campus," head coach Babar Akbar explained. "That is a big deal for us. We would have liked to done it more this season, but the weather has just not helped us out.

"What I really liked was that our doubles were efficient. We went out and got the job done. That really set the tone for our singles."

Idaho (13-7, 91 BSC) clinched the match at 4-0, winning the first three singles points. Yang did not drop a game at No. 6, playing to a 6-0, 6-0 win over Anabel Carbo. Tavares was equally impressive, putting together a 6-2, 6-0 win at No.4. Petrei sealed the win for the Vandals with her 20th career conference win. She remained unbeaten in the Big Sky with a 6-0, 6-4 win at No. 1.

Montana (2-19, 1-9 BSC) did not go down easy in the final three matches. All three went into tiebreakers. Brzozowska fought back after dropping the second set to beat Lida Dukic, 6-4, 5-7, 10-7. Badillos faced a similar task after winning her first set and dropping the second. She picked up the 6-4, 5-7, 10-5 decision at No. 3. Watabe closed the day out with a 6-7(5), 6-2, 10-7 win at No. 5.

"Our No. 1, 4 and 6 players really stepped up," Akbar explained. "Our senior, Claire, was really strong. We clinched early and then some of Montana's girls began to fight back. We could have lost. We could have said it was fine. Our girls stepped up and kept playing hard. It is good to see that we were still competing even in the matches that were dead. That is the type of habits that we want to build and take to conference with us."

Idaho will battle with Montana State on Sunday for a first-round bye in next weekend's Big Sky Tournament. Both teams have a 9-1 conference record going into the regular season finale. The match is set for 1 p.m. PT, at the Memorial Gym Courts.
 

Singles competition

1. Petrei, Marianna (UI) def. SULZ, Hannah (UM) 6-0, 6-4

2. Brzozowska, Jessica (UI) def. DUKIC, Lidia (UM) 6-4, 5-7, 10-7

3. Badillos, Lucia (UI) def. ORFANOS, Catherine (UM) 6-4, 5-7, 10-5

4. Tavares, Maria (UI) def. JOANLANNE, Nathalie (UM) 6-2, 6-0

5. Watabe, Shion (UI) def. KINCAID, Cam (UM) 6-7 (5-7), 6-2, 10-7

6. Yang, Claire (UI) def. CARBO, Anabel (UM) 6-0, 6-0

 

Doubles competition

1. Petrei, Marianna/Badillos, Lucia (UI) def. SULZ, Hannah/ORFANOS, Catherine (UM) 6-2

2. Brzozowska, Jessica/Tavares, Maria (UI) def. JOANLANNE, Nathalie/KINCAID, Cam (UM) 6-2

3. Watabe, Shion/Yang, Claire (UI) def. DUKIC, Lidia/PANIC, Milica (UM) 6-2

 

Match Notes

Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (6,4,1,2,3,5)

T-2:50