LEWISTON, Idaho—The Vandal men's tennis team improved to 5-2 in Big Sky play on Saturday. Idaho defeated Northern Colorado, 6-1, bouncing back from its previous loss at Utah State.

"Today was a good way to start our homestretch," head coach Abid Akbar explained. "Every court was a battle. We fought hard. Northern Colorado is an improved team. They beat us last year at their place, but I think they are a better team this year. Everything is looking good right now. We switched up our doubles and I think that worked. Overall, I am pretty happy."

Idaho (10-6) secured the double's point to start the match, winning the opening point for the first time in last five matches. Mark Kovacs and Carlos Longhi Neto opened the match with a 6-0 showing at No. 1. Esteban Santibanez and Felipe Fonseca clinched the point with a 6-2 win at No. 3. Lucas Coutinho and Guilherme Coutinho added a tight 7-6(4) win at No. 2 for good measure.

Idaho won three of the first four singles matches to clinch the win. UNC struck first, with a 6-2, 6-2 win at No. 3. Coutinho put Idaho back in the lead with his 6-4, 6-1 win at No. 4. Kovacs padded the Idaho lead with his 6-2, 6-4 win at the No. 1 spot.

Fonseca picked up his team-best 13th win of the season to close out the match for Idaho. He remained perfect in conference play with a 6-3, 6-2 win at No. 2.

Santibanez and Scarpelli each picked up wins to finish the day.

"This weekend is huge for us. We have two teams that are very good in the Big Sky. My goal is to go unbeaten this month. That is what we talked about. I think today was a good start. We want to build our confidence back up after a somewhat of a rough spring break where we took a few losses."

The Vandals will return to Lewiston on Sunday. Idaho will take on Montana at 2 p.m. PT.   

Singles

1. Kovacs, Mark (UI) def. FINERTY, Connor (NC) 6-2, 6-4

2. Fonseca, Felipe (UI) def. VAKOUFTSIS, Alex (NC) 6-3, 6-2

3. PEASE, Kyle (NC) def. Longhi Neto, Carlos (UI) 6-2, 6-2

4. Coutinho,Lucas (UI) def. CRAMER, Hayden (NC) 6-4, 6-1

5. Santibanez, Esteban (UI) def. LOMBARDI, Augstin (NC) 1-6, 7-6 (7-1), 10-3

6. Scarpelli, Guilherme (UI) def. KING, Cassell (NC) 7-5, 7-5

Doubles

1. Kovacs, Mark/Longhi Neto, Carlos (UI) def. VAKOUFTSIS, Alex/KING, Cassell (NC) 6-0

2. Scarpelli, Guilherme/Coutinho,Lucas (UI) def. PEASE, Kyle/FINERTY, Connor (NC) 7-6 (7-4)

3. Fonseca, Felipe/Santibanez, Esteban (UI) def. CRAMER, Hayden/LOMBARDI, Augstin (NC) 6-2

Notes

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