LOS ANGELES—The Idaho men's tennis team returns to the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive year, opening with No. 2 UCLA on Saturday (12 p.m. PT). The 2018 Big Sky champions have now been to the NCAA Tournament four times in the last five years.
Idaho (15-7) defeated Montana, 4-0, in the Big Sky Championship for the second straight season to earn the trip to UCLA. The Vandals have won three of the last four Big Sky titles since returning to the conference in 2014.
Seniors
Mark Kovacs and
Felipe Fonseca help lead this year's Vandals. Kovacs set the school record for most career wins late in the season, now with 97. Fonseca has also had his share of success as a Vandal, tied for fourth with 86 career wins. Kovacs picked up his second First Team All-Conference honor this season, while Fonseca was as Second Team selection.
Junior
Carlos Longhi Neto earned a pair of postseason conference honors. He went 6-4 in the Big Sky to earn Honorable Mention in singles. He played the entire season with Kovacs at the No. 1 position in doubles. The pair was ranked as high as 32nd in the nation by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association this season. They went 14-6 in the spring, earning First Team All-Conference.
Lucas Coutinho and
Esteban Santibanez played out of the No. 2 slot this season, registering an 8-4 record. They went 6-1 in the Big Sky, earning Honorable Mention.
Saturday will be the first-ever meeting between UCLA and Idaho. The Bruins are the No. 2 seeded team in the field, having a 26-2 record overall. UCLA won its fourth Pac-12 title in the last seven years, outscoring its opponents 12-1 in the tournament. Martin Redlicki has a grasp on the Bruins No. 1 position. He will be the top seed in the upcoming NCAA Singles Championship, following the team tournament. UCLA's Keegan Smith also qualified for the singles tournament as an at-large.
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