BOZEMAN, Mont.—Idaho men's tennis moved one step closer to clinching the No. 1 seed in the Big Sky Tournament on Wednesday. The Vandals kicked off their crucial five-match stretch with a 6-1 win at Montana State.

The win puts Idaho at 7-0 in conference play. The Vandals can clinch the top-seed as soon as Saturday, needing wins at Montana and Southern Utah.

Idaho won its third straight doubles point, getting out to the early 1-0 lead. Felipe Fonseca and Guilherme Scarpelli got Idaho rolling with a 6-2 win at No. 3. Esteban Santibanez and Lucas Coutinho registered Idaho's second win, clinching the point with a 6-3 win at No. 2.

Idaho won the first three singles matches, clinching the win with a 4-0 lead. Carlos Longhi Neto put the Vandals up 2-0 with his 6-0, 6-3 win at No. 2. Fonseca picked up his team-leading 11th win of the season, going 7-5, 6-0 over Adrian Torrico at No. 4. Scarpelli picked up the winner, prevailing in three sets, 6-7(2), 6-3, 7-6(2).

Mark Kovacs and Coutinho concluded the afternoon with wins at No. 1 and 6, respectively.

Idaho will return to action on Thursday. The Vandals will work their way to Missoula to take on Montana at 1 p.m. PT.