MOSCOW, Idaho – The Idaho men's team dominated in its first true home match in seven years, defeating Seattle University 6-1 on Sunday afternoon at the Kibbie Dome.
The Vandals (1-0) earned the doubles point and won five out of six singles matches to help upend Seattle U (1-2) in the opening match of the spring season.
The defending Big Sky champions made quick work of the Redhawks in doubles to open the match.
Francisco Gay and
Taiyo Kurata scored Idaho's first win of the day with a 6-2 win at No. 2 doubles. The Vandals picked up another 6-2 win by
Bruno Casino and
Alejandro Salvador before sweeping doubles action with a 6-4 decision from
Francisco Bascon and
Matteo Masala at No. 1.
Bascon, playing in the No. 1 spot, made it 2-0 in favor of the Vandals after earning a singles point for the home team. He won in straight sets, 6-0, 6-4 over Seattle U's Filip Stipic. Masala continued Idaho's early success on the court, posting a 6-3, 7-5 victory in the No. 3 position. After clinching both semi-final and championship matches at last year's Big Sky Tournament, Casino delivered a 6-1, 5-7, 6-1 win at No. 4 to secure the victory.
Kurata, a freshman from Japan, posted his first career dual win in singles play. He handled Yu Han Hsieh 6-2, 6-0 at No.5. Salvador made it 6-1 Vandals after winning in straight sets 6-3, 6-4 at the No. 6 position.
The Vandals continue match play next week with a road trip to Spokane to face Gonzaga on Feb. 4 at 2 p.m.
MATCH RESULTS
Idaho 6, Seattle U 1
Doubles
1.
Francisco Bascon/
Matteo Masala (UI) def. Clement Hamel/Veselin Kiselkov (SU) | 6-4
2.
Francisco Gay/
Taiyo Kurata (UI) def. Yu Han Hsieh/Julian Worn (SU) | 6-2
3.
Bruno Casino/
Alejandro Salvador (UI) def. Filip Stipic/Michael Frank (SU) | 6-2
Singles
1.
Francisco Bascon (UI) def. Filip Stipic (SU) | 6-0, 6-4
2. Julian Worn (SU) def.
Francisco Gay (UI) | 5-7, 6-7 (7-4)
3.
Matteo Masala (UI) def. Veselin Kiselkov (SU) | 6-3, 7-5
4.
Bruno Casino (UI) def. Michael Frank (SU) | 6-1, 5-7, 6-1
5.
Taiyo Kurata (UI) def. Yu Han Hsieh (SU) | 6-2, 6-0
6.
Alejandro Salvador (UI) def. Dario Ristovski (SU) | 6-3, 6-4
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (1,3,4,5,2,6)
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