MOSCOW, Idaho—The Idaho Vandals men's and women's tennis teams are headed back to the NCAA Tournament. The men return to the tournament for the second time in three seasons, while the women will be making their fourth straight appearance.
The 2017 Big Sky champions will both head to Stanford, Calif., to do battle with the Cardinal. The Stanford men earned the No. 16 seed, while the women come in at No. 7. The men will play on Friday, May 12, while the women open on Saturday, May 13.
The Vandal men (16-7) won its second Big Sky Championship in the last three years last weekend. Idaho entered the Big Sky Tournament as the No. 2 seed and defeated No. 3 Sacramento State and No. 4 Montana, both in 4-0 fashion to advance to the national tournament.
"It will be an uphill battle," men's head coach
Abid Akbar commented. "They [Stanford] have always been a good team. If we are able to fight the same way we did at the Big Sky Tournament I will be happy with the result."
The Vandals were led by a mix of veteran and young talent this spring. Junior
Felipe Fonseca enters the NCAA Tournament with a 19-2 singles record after finishing 11-0 in conference play. Newcomer
Esteban Santibanez totaled 18 wins in his first season at Idaho.
Stanford (16-8) fell to No. 5 UCLA in the semifinals of the Pac-12 Tournament. The Cardinal, currently ranked No. 17 in the Oracle/ITA collegiate rankings, have two players ranked in the top 125. Stanford has notable wins this season over No. 5 Southern California, No. 6 California, No. 8 Texas and No. 25 Illinois.
The Vandal women (16-7) secured their fourth straight conference title, defeating No. 1 Northern Arizona 4-3 last Saturday. Idaho has won the last three Big Sky Championships. The Silver and Gold won the Western Athletic Conference in 2014 before shifting to the Big Sky.
"We are looking forward to this experience," women's head coach
Babar Akbar explained. "Some of the girls have been here [NCAA Tournament] before. For me as a coach this will be new. We are looking forward to this challenge and we will see how we do against some really good teams."
Sophomore
Marianna Petrei made a strong case for her second straight conference MVP. She went 19-1 overall in the spring, including her second straight undefeated season in the Big Sky. Sophomore
Maria Tavares also finished undefeated in league play, totaling an 18-2 record overall.
Stanford (21-2), the 2016 NCAA Champions, defeated No. 16 California last week to sweep the regular and postseason Pac-12 crowns. They begin the week ranked No. 6 in the nation, boasting five players in the ITA's top 125. Last season the Cardinal became the lowest-seeded team to win an NCAA Title, coming out of the No. 15 seed.
The Vandals last three trips to the NCAA Tournament also placed the team in California. The women faced Southern California in 2014, UCLA in 2015 and Pepperdine in 2016. The men faced USC in 2015.
