Idaho was picked to finish second in the Big Sky Conference when the league announced the women's tennis coaches' preseason poll, Tuesday. The preseason poll was voted on by the league's 11 head coaches. Coaches could not vote for their own team.
 
The Vandals totaled 93 points and three first-place votes. Northern Arizona was selected as the favorites, receiving eight first-place votes and collecting 98 points. Sacramento State was third (78), Eastern Washington fourth (78) and Weber State fifth (71).
 
The Vandals return seven players from last season's squad headlined by three-time Big Sky MVP Marianna Petrei. Idaho finished second in Big Sky regular-season competition before receiving its fourth consecutive Big Sky Conference title a season ago. Petrei will be joined by fellow Senior Maria Tavares, a 2018 All-Big Sky First Team selection, along with juniors Shion Watabe and Maggie Chen, sophomores Laura Spataro and Marta Magalhães, and freshman Anna Findley.

"With the level of competition improving each year, it is an honor to be considered one of the top teams in the conference," said head coach Babar Akbar. "We have worked hard and are expecting to have a great season."
 
Idaho women's tennis opens the 2019 dual season Saturday at Washington State in Pullman, Wash.

 

2019 Big Sky Preseason Coaches' Poll
Team	Points (1st-place votes)
1. Northern Arizona	98 (8)
2. Idaho	93 (3)
3. Sacramento State	78
4. Eastern Washington	71
5. Weber State	60
6. Idaho State	57
7. Southern Utah	47
8. Montana	37
9. Montana State	34
10. Northern Colorado	18
11. Portland State	12