PULLMAN, Wash.—The Vandal women's tennis team opened the spring season against cross-border rival Washington State on Friday. Idaho took four matches into the third set in singles play, but was unable to break through against the Cougars, falling 7-0.
"We competed very well today," head coach Mariana Cobra said. "There were some very postive things that happened today, even if the score does not indicate so. WSU is a very strong team and I was very proud of the way the team represented Idaho."
Washington State got off to a quick start, taking the double's point with wins on the No. 2 and No. 3 courts. The No. 1 match between the top pairings of Idaho's Belen Barcenilla and Maria Tavares and the Cougars' Donika Bashota and Lize Leenknecht was left unfished.
Ana Batiri, Lucia Badillos, Marianna Petrei and Barcenilla forced tie-breakers in their respective singles matches. Batiri fell on the No. 4 court, 5-7, 6-0, 6-2, to WSU's Barbora Michalkova. Trang Huynh clinched the match for the Cougars on the No. 3 court with a 6-2, 6-7(5), 6-4 win over Barcenilla. Petrei, in her first match this season, fell on the No. 1 court to the ITA's No. 83 ranked singles player in Bashota (6-3, 7-6 (7), 6-4). Badillos was the last match of the day on the No. 5 court, falling to Aneta Miksovska, 4-6, 7-5, 10-2.
The Vandals are back in action on Sunday, Jan. 17, when they take on Big Sky rival Montana State. The match is set for a 9 a.m. PT start in Pullman.
DOUBLES
No. 1 Bashota/Leenknecht (WSU) vs. Barcenilla/Tavares (UI) 5-3, DNF
No. 2 Biryukova/Huynh (WSU) def. Batiri/Badillos (UI) 6-1
No. 3 Miksovska/Michalkova (WSU) def. Petrei/Koets (UI) 6-2
Order of Finish: 2,3
SINGLES
No. 1 No. 83 Donika Bashota (WSU) def. Marianna Petrei (UI) 6-3, 7-6 (7), 6-4
No. 2 Maria Biryukova (WSU) def. Maria Tavares (UI) 6-4, 6-3
No. 3 Trang Huynh (WSU) def. Belen Barcenilla (UI) 6-2, 6-7 (5), 6-4
No. 4 Barbora Michalkova (WSU) def. Ana Batiri (UI) 5-7, 6-0, 6-2
No. 5 Aneta Miksovska (WSU) def. Lucia Badillos (UI) 4-6, 7-5, 10-2
No. 6 Lize Leenknecht (WSU) def. Celine Koets (UI) 6-4, 6-1
Order of Finish: 2,4,3,1,6,5
