LEWISTON, Idaho—Idaho men's tennis travels 30 minutes south for pair Sunday at Lewis - Clark State College. The Vandals will face LCSC at 9 a.m. and Whitman College at 1 p.m.
 
LAST TIME OUT: MTEN Drops 5-2 Decision to Hornets
Idaho men's tennis fell 5-2 to Sacramento State during Big Sky Conference opener last Saturday, Feb. 2.
 
In doubles, the Hornets won the double points earlier in the day. The Vandals pushed for a comeback in single as Idaho clinched wins with Valentin Popescu and Esteban Santibanez. The Hornets kept control of the match at No. 4 singles finished in straight sets, 6-1, 6-1. Popescu kept the Vandals alive as he handed Don Miller a 6-2, 6-3 rout. After Idaho took another loss at the top singles spot, Santibanez put one on the scoreboard with a tight 7-6, 7-5, battle. In the end, the Hornets took the last two points and downed the Vandals, 5-2.
 
NEW LEADERSHIP
The Vandals open its fall season under the helm of head coach Daniel Hangstefer in his first year at Idaho. Coach Hangstefer is no stranger in running a successful tennis program. In his last stop, Hangstefer spent a season as the men's and women's tennis head coach with Ferris State University, a Division II university in Big Rapids, Mich. There, Hangstefer coached and guided a nationally ranked men's program. He led the men's team to a 21-3 overall record and went undefeated during conference play. The men's squad captured the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) regular-season and tournament championship in the 2017-2018 season.
 
FALL RECAP
In the fall season, Idaho competed in the ITA Mountain Regionals in October. Junior Guilherme Scarpelli advanced to the singles semifinals where he lost to second-seeded and nationally ranked Ricky Hernandez of the University of New Mexico in the singles semifinals, 6-1, 6-3.
 
BIG SKY PREDICTIONS
Idaho totaled 72 points with two first-place votes, putting last season's Big Sky regular-season champs in third place. Northern Arizona was the leading vote-getter, receiving eight first-place votes and collecting 98 points and Montana took second place.
 
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