PHOENIX -- The Idaho men's tennis team (14-8, 5-2) secured a 4-3 victory in the semifinals of the Big Sky Championship against Sacramento State (12-7, 5-2) on Friday at the Phoenix Tennis Center.
The Vandals advance to the championship for the second consecutive year looking to defend their 2022 title. Idaho will face No. 71 and first-seeded Northern Arizona at 8 a.m. on Saturday.
Sophomore
Francisco Gay and freshman
Taiyo Kurata opened doubles action with a 6-4 win on court two. Sacramento State proved too tough taking doubles matches on courts one and three to grab a 1-0 advantage.
Bruno Casino, the reigning Big Sky Player of the Week, made quick work of Sac State's Adam Chodur in singles play to tie the match at 1-1. He won in straight sets 6-1, 6-4 at No. 3 to set the tone for Idaho.
Matteo Masala followed up on court five with another two-set triumph in a 7-6 (5), 6-2 win against Ori Maior.
On court six, Rudolfs Aksenoks of Sacramento State took the first set at 6-1 over
Mario Duron, but the Vandal junior battled back with a 6-4 win. Novak eventually outlasted Duron in set three by a score of 6-4.
The match on court one was next to go final and it handed Idaho a 3-2 edge. Veteran senior
Francisco Bascon came from behind in a three-set thriller to defeat Mark Keki, who was 6-0 against conference opponents entering the match. Bascon went down early, dropping the first set 7-5, but responded with a 6-3 victory in the second. After going down 5-2 in the final frame, Bascon rallied off five consecutive games to earn a 7-5 victory.
The Hornets would not go away though, tying the overall match up at 3-3 after a win on court four. Kurata took the first set against Jan Silva with a 6-4 win before falling in the second and third (6-3, 7-5) frames.
With the match coming down to court two's outcome, Gay played hero with a three-set victory over Matt Voros to earn his third match-clinching victory of the season. The Argentinian native sailed to a 6-1 victory in the first frame before dropping the second by way of a 7-1 tiebreaker. Gay bounced back in the third set to finish off Voros with a 7-5 win and land Idaho a spot in the championship once again.
Up Next
Idaho is set to face Northern Arizona (22-2, 7-0) in the 2023 Big Sky Championship after they defeated Idaho State 4-1 in their semifinal match. The championship match is set to get underway Saturday at 8 a.m. at the Phoenix Tennis Center. The Vandals are seeking their second straight Big Sky title and 16th overall in the program's history.
Idaho 4, Sacramento State 3
Singles competition
1.
Francisco Bascon (IDAHO) def. Keki, Mark (SAC) 5-7, 6-3, 7-5
2.
Francisco Gay (IDAHO) def. Voros, Mate (SAC) 6-1, 6-7 (1-7), 7-5
3.
Bruno Casino (IDAHO) def. Chodur, Adam (SAC) 6-1, 6-4
4. Silva, Jan (SAC) def.
Taiyo Kurata (IDAHO) 4-6, 6-3, 7-5
5.
Matteo Masala (IDAHO) def. Maior, Ori (SAC) 7-6 (7-5), 6-2
6. Aksenoks, Rudolfs (SAC) def.
Mario Duron (IDAHO) 6-1, 4-6, 6-4
Doubles competition
1. Keki, Mark/Voros, Mate (SAC) def.
Francisco Bascon/
Matteo Masala (IDAHO) 6-3
2.
Francisco Gay/
Taiyo Kurata (IDAHO) def. Chodur, Adam/Novak, Jiri (SAC) 6-4
3. Silva, Jan/Maior, Ori (SAC) def.
Bruno Casino/
Alex Asenov (IDAHO) 7-6 (7-2)
Match Notes:
Idaho 14-8, 5-2 Sacramento State 12-7, 5-2
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (3,5,6,1,4,2)
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