Game Notes: Utah State
POCATELLO, Idaho - The Idaho State men's and women's tennis teams will open their seasons at home against Utah State for the third straight year. The Bengal women will host the Aggies on Tuesday, Jan. 25 at 1 p.m. while the men play the following day on Wednesday, Jan. 26 at 1 p.m. Both dual matches will be played at Reed Gym.
BENGAL WOMEN TO WATCH
The Bengal women return five players including junior
Rilee Moorhead and sophomore
Amy Bettis. Both Moorhead and Bettis posted a 10-5 singles record last season and were 6-0 in three set matches. The women's team also welcomes four new players including transfers
Katharina Marsela of Lewis and Clark State and Tennessee Tech's
Laura Porras.
THE LEWIS AND CLARK CONNECTION
When it comes to recruiting it's all about connections and the Bengal men's and women's team is no stranger to this rule. ISU's Moorhead transferred to Idaho State last season from Lewis and Clark State. Her former teammate saw the success the new Bengal was having and decided to join her friend. The addition was a welcome one for ISU as Marsela, affectionately called “Sela” played No. 1 singles for two years and No. 1 doubles in 2010. She also made two appearances at the NAIA National Championship.
BENGAL MEN STANDOUTS
The men return five players including senior
Danel Barrenechea who posted a 6-7 singles record at the No. 2 spot and sophomore
Nate Gross who held a 6-7 record at the No. 4 and 5 positions. ISU also welcomes Western Illinois transfer
Rodrigo Azevedo.
BROTHERLY LOVE
The Idaho State men welcomed Western Illinois transfer R. Azevedo to the Bengal squad. R. Azevedo switched schools for academic reasons as he wanted to major in civil engineering. When his younger brother
Gilberto Azevedo was looking for a place to go to school and play tennis Rodrigo suggested he join the Bengals. However, they are not the only brothers on the team as ISU returns junior
Dakota Pate and sophomore
Colton Pate. D. Pate transferred to Idaho State from Tennessee-Chattanooga last season.
FATHER OF PATE BROTHERS IS A FORMER PRO
Both Pate brothers descend from a strong tennis background as their father David was a professional tennis player. He reached a career-high world doubles ranking of No. 1 (1991) and a career-high singles world ranking of No. 18 (1987). He earned two singles titles and 18 doubles titles including a Grand Slam at the Australian Open in 1991.
INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS
The Bengal men's and women's tennis teams house nine international students, four from Brazil (G. Azevedo, R. Azevedo, Cavalcanti, Severino), two from Colombia (Porras, Vasquez), one from Spain (Barrenechea), one from Japan (Fujiwara) and one from Indonesia (Marsela).
ABOUT UTAH STATE - WOMEN
The Utah State women will be playing their season opener at Idaho State. The Aggies return its top players Monica Abella, Hailey Swenson, Jaclyn West and Taylor Perry to the line-up.
ABOUT UTAH STATE - MEN
The Utah State men are 1-2 on the season coming off a 4-3 win over New Mexico State. The Aggies opened the season with a 6-1 loss to Brigham Young then fell to Texas A&M Corpus Christi 7-0 the following day. USU's Alex Thatcher was the only Aggie to post a victory against Brigham Young, a 7-5, 1-6, 10-4 contest against Daniel Hwang at the No. 5 spot. The Aggies No. 1 player Sven Poslusny is 0-3 in singles for the year.
MEN & WOMEN TABBED TO FINISH 8TH IN PRESEASON POLL
The Idaho State men's and women's tennis teams were selected to finish eighth in the Big Sky preseason poll released by the conference office with the men receiving 15 points and the women 13. Both ISU's men's and women's teams finished ninth in the conference last season. Defending men's and women's conference champions Sacramento State were selected to finish first in the preseason poll.
