Portland, Ore. ? The University of Idaho women's tennis team ended their Oregon road trip with mixed results.

 

Idaho bounced backed from Friday's loss to the University of Oregon with a win against Portland State Saturday morning. Things went sour for the Vandals with losses to the University of Houston and University of Portland rounding out the weekend.

 

The Vandals got off to a strong start against Portland State sweeping doubles before taking five out of the six singles matches to secure the 6-1 win.

 

“I thought we competed well against Portland State,” University of Idaho women's tennis head coach Tyler Neill said. “Despite cold weather and an early start time, our team played hard and was able to come away with a victory.”

 

Idaho was unable to carry their momentum into to the Saturday evening match against the University of Houston and fell 4-3.

 

“Against University of Houston I thought we played the hardest I have seen us compete this season,” Neill said. “Houston is a very good team and we took them down to the wire.”

 

Idaho got off to strong start taking two out of three doubles match to earn the first point. Maria Perevoshchikova and Basia Maciocha were able to win their singles matches in the No. 1 and No. 3 spots respectively but the Vandals were unable to capture the victory despite the battling effort.

 

“Most of our players were battling injuries or sickness but everyone gave one hundred percent effort,” Neill said. “The match was tied 3-3 with Ulesanu's match remaining in the third set. Even though she wasn't able to pull through in the third set, I could not have been more impressed with her effort. Although I am disappointed with the overall outcome, I am happy with our performance.” 

 

Idaho's long weekend concluded with a 6-1 loss to the University of Portland. The Pilots jumped on the Vandals early sweeping doubles. Alexandra Ulesanu managed to nab a singles victory at the No. 4 spot but the weary Vandals had little else go there way during the match.

 

“After playing one of the toughest matches of the season (against Houston), I thought we weren't ready to compete against Portland,” Neill said. “We came out flat in doubles with no energy and that carried into the singles. I understand that this was our fourth match in three days and most of our players were injured and tired, but I still expect our team to compete better than we did today.”

 

Idaho's record on the season now stands at 3-4 and the team has two weeks before their next match.

 

“I think we can use this loss to grow as a team and better understand what it takes to compete throughout an entire weekend,” Neill said. “Fortunately we have a couple of weeks before our next match so we can use that time to heal from our injuries and be better prepared for our next matches.”

 

University of Idaho vs. Portland State University