BOISE, Idaho – Less than one week after beating Boise State for the first time since the 1980's, the Idaho men's tennis team ran into its in-state rival yet again, this time falling 4-3 to the Broncos in the finals of the Boise State Spring Break Tournament.
The loss snaps the No. 57 ranked Vandals' seven-match win streak, and drops Idaho to 14-3 (1-0) on the season, while No. 61 Boise State improves to 11-10 (1-1). Although the Vandals and Broncos are Western Athletic Conference opponents, the match does not count in the conference standings as it was part of the tournament, and the teams already played their WAC match.
“Today's match was as tough as they come,” Idaho coach Jeff Beaman said. “We were serving for the win but both teams competed at a very high level and this time BSU came out on top. I was very happy with the way our players responded after their performance in the doubles, they picked themselves up and played hard right away.”
The Vandals beat Marquette and Saint Mary's on Friday to advance to the finals, and the loss was Idaho's first since a 4-3 hiccup at Montana on Feb. 12.
Marius Cirstea and Lachlan Reed won at No. 1and No. 2 singles for the Vandals, but Jose Bendeck was Idaho's only other player to pick up a singles win, and Boise State swept the doubles competition to claim the 4-3 win. Reed's 7-5, 6-0 win at No. 2 singles improves him to 16-1 in singles play on the season.
Idaho will play at home for the first time this season when it hosts WAC opponents Utah State on April 8, Fresno State on April 9 and Hawai`i on April 10. The Vandals will then host a non-conference match against Gonzaga on April 13.
2010-11 Boise State Men's Tennis
University of Idaho vs Boise State University (Mar 26, 2011)
#61 Boise State University 4, #57 University of Idaho 3
Mar 26, 2011 at Boise, Idaho (BOAS Indoor Tennis Complex)
Singles competition
1. #112 Marius Cirstea (UI) def. #89 Damian Hume (BSU) 7-6, 6-4
2. Lachlan Reed (UI) def. Filipp Pogostkin (BSU) 7-5, 6-0
3. Andrew Bettles (BSU) def. Alexandru Joitoiu (UI) 6-7, 6-2, 7-5
4. Scott Sears (BSU) def. Abid Akbar (UI) 6-4, 6-4
5. Jose Bendeck (UI) def. Jeff Mullen (BSU) 6-1, 6-3
6. Nathan Sereke (BSU) def. Alan Shin (UI) 6-3, 6-4
Doubles competition
1. #75 Damian Hume/Scott Sears (BSU) def. Marius Cirstea/Alexandru Joitoiu (UI) 8-4
2. Jeff Mullen/Nathan Sereke (BSU) def. Lachlan Reed/Jose Bendeck (UI) 8-6
3. Filipp Pogostkin/Andrew Bettles (BSU) def. Abid Akbar/Alan Shin (UI) 8-3
Match Notes
University of Idaho 13-3, 1-0; National ranking #57
Boise State University 11-10, 1-1; National ranking #61
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (5,4,2,1,3,6)
