POCATELLO, Idaho – The Idaho State tennis programs open the 2013 season this week against regional rival Utah State. The ISU men face the Aggies Thursday, Jan .17 at 3 p.m. in Reed Gym while the women face USU in Logan, Utah Friday, Jan. 18 at 1 p.m.
Last season, the ISU men broke a nine-match losing streak to Utah State when the team beat the Aggies 6-1 in Pocatello. The men went on to sweep USU for the first time since the 2006 season with a 4-3 win later in the season in Logan. Overall, Utah State leads the series 12-9. Idaho State is 5-5 against USU at home.
The Bengal women will look to break an 18-match losing streak against Utah State as well as pick up their first ever win in Logan. Utah State leads the all-time series against ISU 19-1 and the Bengals have not won a contest against the Aggies since the very first meeting between the two programs on Feb. 5, 2003. ISU is 0-10 at Utah State.
The Bengal men return five players from a squad that finished the 2012 season with an 8-11 record and finished fifth in the Big Sky with a 4-4 record. The squad was just one point away from breaking into the top four and returning to the Big Sky Conference Tournament.
ISU's two seniors this year are
Nate Gross (Sebastopol, Calif.) and
Charles Norman (Durban, South Africa). Gross went 9-10 in singles last season at the No. 2 position and went 11-8 in doubles play. Norman played at the No. 1 spot and finished 1-18 in singles and 1-7 at the No. 1 doubles spot.
ISU also returns a sophomore class with a lot of experience in
Krzysztof Stempien (Lodz, Poland),
Austin Miller (Eagle, Idaho) and
Andres Coello (Guayaquil, Ecuador).
ISU's women finished the 2012 season at 4-13 and 1-7 in Big Sky play after defeating league foe Portland State.
The Bengals return sophomore
Marian Tangarife (Bogota, Columbia) and junior
Zamira Vasquez (Sorrento, Columbia). Tangarife went 6-11 last season at the No. 4 singles spot while Vasquez finished 5-9 at the No. 5 position.
The men's squad welcomes two newcomers this season. Freshmen
Jamey Swiggart (Steamboat, Colo.) and
Christian Marian (Frankfurt, Germany) enter their first season as Bengals this year.
ISU's women's team welcomes five freshmen to the squad including,
Wiebke Boeckmann (Kamen, Germany),
Kasey Bacon (Bountiful, Utah),
Svenja Tegtmeier (Oldenburg, Germany),
Laura Theus (Berlin, Germany) and
Madelyn Weltzin (Boise, Idaho).
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