CHENEY, Wash. – The Idaho women's tennis team earned a berth to the Big Sky Tournament on the final day of the regular season after defeating Eastern Washington, 4-3 on Sunday afternoon at the Jim Thorpe Fieldhouse.
The Vandals captured the sixth seed at next week's conference tournament in Phoenix after earning their third win in conference. The Silver and Gold will now turn their attention to the Idaho State Bengals, as the rivals will face off in the first round Thursday, April 28 at 8 a.m.
Idaho started off the match by earning wins at No. 1 and No. 2 positions in doubles to take an early 1-0 advantage.
Ke Syuan Jhang and
Melissa Huchet won 6-3 over EWU's Yasmin Mansouri and Jennifer Kida.
Saffron Dowse and
Nicole Horacek delivered another 6-3 verdict to earn the doubles point.
Emery Baker fell 6-0, 6-0 at No. 6 singles and Horacek lost 6-1, 6-0 at No. 6, giving the Eagles a 2-1 lead.
Dowse tied the score at 2 all after she delivered a 6-3, 6-4 decision over Renata Gabuzyan at the No. 4 spot.
Jhang rebounded from a 6-2 opening set loss to win the final two sets 6-1, 6-2 at the No. 1 position.
Freshman
Jayanne Palma battled her way to a three-set victory over Mansouri at No. 3 to help clinch the match victory. Palma fell in the first frame 6-0 before answering with wins in sets two and three (6-2, 7-5) to put away the Eagles.
The Vandals improve to 5-12 on the season with the win and wrap up Big Sky play with a 3-5 record. The conference tournament is from April 28-30.
Stay up to date on next week's action at the Big Sky Championships by following the squad on Twitter and Instagram @IdahoWTennis.
MATCH RESULTS
Idaho 4, Eastern Washington 3
Singles competition
1. JHANG,Ke Syuan (ID) def. KIDA, Jennifer (EWUW) 2-6, 6-1, 6-2
2. MATHEWS, Scout (EWUW) def. HUCHET,Melissa (ID) 6-3, 5-7, 6-4
3. PALMA,Jayanne (ID) def. MANSOURI, Yasmin (EWUW) 0-6, 6-2, 7-5
4. DOWSE,Saffron (ID) def. GABUZYAN, Renata (EWUW) 6-3, 6-4
5. FOSHEE, Isabella (EWUW) def. HORACEK,Nicole (ID) 6-1, 6-0
6. MANN, Kenzington (EWUW) def. Baker,Emery (ID) 6-0, 6-0
Doubles competition
1. JHANG,Ke Syuan/HUCHET,Melissa (ID) def. MANSOURI, Yasmin/KIDA, Jennifer (EWUW) 6-3
2. DOWSE,Saffron/HORACEK,Nicole (ID) def. GABUZYAN, Renata/MANN, Kenzington (EWUW) 6-3
3. MATHEWS, Scout/FOSHEE, Isabella (EWUW) def. PALMA,Jayanne/Baker,Emery (ID) 6-1
Match Notes:
Idaho 5-12, 3-5
Eastern Washington 4-12, 3-5
Order of Finish Doubles Play: 3, 1, 2
Order of Finish Singles Play: 6, 5, 4, 1, 3, 2
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