BOISE – Francisco Bascon and
Taiyo Kurata highlighted the weekend for the Idaho men's tennis team at Dar Walters Fall Classic. The pair went a combined 10-2 in singles and doubles play en route to being named tournament champions.
"I'm happy for Cisco and Taiyo," Idaho head coach
Daniel Hangstefer said. "They competed against tough teams. In the semifinals and finals, during some tough moments they came through and played their games. Overall, I felt that every Idaho team had some bright shining moments."
All eight Vandals combined for a 25-17 record over the three-day tournament, competing against players from Boise State, Eastern Washington, Oregon and Utah. The competition consisted of two student-athletes from the same school competing as a team versus other pairs, while each match featured one doubles and two singles contests with the team winning two of the three advancing on.
The Vandal duo of Bascon and Kurata only dropped three sets throughout eight singles matches against teams from EWU, Utah and Boise State. A win over the Eagles got things started on Friday, sweeping Eastern Washington across three matches in singles and doubles to advance. The pair defeated Utah (2-1) in the quarterfinals and Boise State (2-1) in the semifinals on Saturday to clinch a spot in the title match Sunday.
The championship featured another matchup against a BSU tandem. Bascon and Kurata started with a 6-4 victory over Michael Bott and Sam Sippel. In singles, Kurata clinched the championship with a straight set (6-2, 6-4) win over Bott before Bascon completed the sweep with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Sippel. The tournament championship is the first for Kurata in his true freshman season.
Alex Asenov and
Francisco Gay added to a successful weekend with a third-place finish in the consolation draw. The pair went 7-5 over three days and capped off Sunday's competition with a 2-1 victory over Oregon.
Duo
Bruno Casino and
Matteo Masala finished 4-5 on the weekend while
Adam Taylor and
Vivek Ramesh also totaled a 4-5 mark.
Up next, Idaho turns its attention to the Idaho State Tournament next week, as the Vandals will compete for three days from Oct. 7-9 in Pocatello, Idaho.
RESULTS
