CHENEY, Wash.—Idaho men's tennis picked up an important Big Sky Conference win on Wednesday. The Vandals scored a 6-1 victory at Eastern Washington, inching one step closer to clinching a spot in the conference tournament.
The Vandals improve to 7-2 in conference play. Idaho sits behind Northern Arizona (8-1) at the top of the Big Sky standings with two matches left in the season.
Idaho broke its doubles slump at the start of play, earning the point and the early lead.
Mark Kovacs paired with
Carlos Longhi Neto at the No. 1 position for a 6-4 win.
Felipe Fonseca and
Esteban Santibanez recorded the Vandals' second win at No. 3, 6-3, to secure the point.
Idaho's momentum carried over into singles play, winning five of the six matches. The Vandals were able to pick up a pair of three-set wins to help their cause. Fonseca overcame an opening 6-3 loss at No. 2, taking the final two sets 6-4, 6-1. Longhi Neto played to two tie-breakers in his win on No. 3, 7-6(5), 6-7 (5), 6-1.
Santibanez picked up his team-best 14th win of the season, improving to 7-2 in conference play. He went 6-3, 6-4 over Flavien Raveau at No. 4.
Lucas Coutinho posted a 6-1, 7-6(5) win at No. 4, while
Guilherme Scarpelli closed out the day with a 6-2, 6-3 win at No. 6.
Idaho will be back home on April 15 against Montana State. The match is set for 2 p.m. PT at the Memorial Gym courts.
Singles
| 1. DULA, Robert (EWU) def. Kovacs, Mark (UI) 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 |
| 2. Fonseca, Felipe (UI) def. PEREIRA, Victor (EWU) 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 |
| 3. Longhi Neto, Carlos (UI) def. PAZ, Scott (EWU) 7-6 (7-5), 6-7 (5-7), 6-1 |
| 4. Santibanez, Esteban (UI) def. RAVEAU, Flavien (EWU) 6-3, 6-4 |
| 5. Coutinho,Lucas (UI) def. BENDJELTI, Wacil (EWU) 6-1, 7-6 (7-5) |
| 6. Scarpelli, Guilherme (UI) def. VUCKOVIC, Vuk (EWU) 6-2, 6-3 |
Doubles
| 1. Kovacs, Mark/Longhi Neto, Carlos (UI) def. DULA, Robert/PEREIRA, Victor (EWU) 6-4 |
| 2. PAZ, Scott/RAVEAU, Flavien (EWU) def. Scarpelli, Guilherme/Coutinho,Lucas (UI) 6-3 |
| 3. Fonseca, Felipe/Santibanez, Esteban (UI) def. BENDJELTI, Wacil/ALMEIDA, Ricardo (EWU) 6-3 |
