TEMPE, Ariz. – The University of Idaho men's tennis team (4-5, 1-0 BSC) went 1-2 on the weekend in Tempe, Arizona at the 2023 ASU Invitational. The Vandals opened the tournament on Friday with a 4-3 win over the 55th-ranked New Mexico Lobos, before falling to Loyola Marymount and Utah State, Saturday and Sunday.
Idaho 4, New Mexico 3 | Box Score
The Vandals started off match play by taking the doubles point to go up 1-0 early on.
Taiyo Kurata and
Francisco Gay earned their third win as a duo on court three by a margin of 6-3 before
Alex Asenov and
Bruno Casino defeated New Mexico's Arda Azkara and Aram Noroozian 6-4 at the No. 2 position for the clinch.
Matteo Masala and
Francisco Bascon's match at the number one position went unfinished.
In singles play, New Mexico was able to even the score at 1-1 after earning a win on court five. Bascon topped Arda Azkara in dominant fashion with a 7-6, 6-2 result at the No. 1 position. Casino captured the Vandals' third point of the afternoon with a 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 decision before Gay clinched in a three-set win (6-2, 6-7, 6-0) over Rafael Abdulsalam to secure a statement victory over the No. 55 ranked team in the country.
Loyola Marymount 4, Idaho 1 | Box Score
The Lions of LMU jumped out to a quick lead, sweeping the Vandals in doubles play.
Singles competition was highlighted by a 6-3, 6-1 victory from junior
Mario Duron at No. 6. Duron defeated LMU's Alvaro Gonzalez 6-3, 6-1 to earn his second singles win of the season.
Utah State 4, Idaho 3 | Box Score
Utah State prevailed over the Vandals in the weekend finale on Sunday.
Francisco Gay and
Taiyo Kurata secured the lone Idaho victory in doubles play by a margin of 6-4.
Francisco Bascon nabbed a come-from-behind win on court one. Despite losing the first set in a 4-7 tiebreaker, he rallied with 7-5 and 6-1 results in sets two and three to move to 6-3 overall on the year.
Matteo Masala improved to 4-4 with a tight three-set win over Utah State's Stijn Paardekooper at the No. 3 position before
Mario Duron rounded out singles play with a 6-4, 6-4 decision on court six.
Up Next
The Vandals travel to compete in two matches at the USAF Academy in Colorado next week. Idaho starts off match play against Air Force on Thursday before facing Chicago State on Friday.
--
