POCATELLO, Idaho – The Idaho State men's tennis team capped a weekend sweep to open conference play with a 6-1 victory over Eastern Washington Sunday afternoon. The Bengals won two tight matches for the doubles point before finishing 5-1 in singles play for the decisive victory.
"Today's win against Eastern Washington was a very tight and toughly contested match despite the 6-1 score line," said Head Coach
Mark Rodel. "We were challenged at every position in singles 1-6 and the guys came through exceedingly well. I was impressed by the fact that this is the first time this season that everybody has been able to follow through with their game plans, execute from start to finish and really rise to the occasion when things got difficult."
The win lifts ISU to 4-5 overall and 2-0 in Big Sky Conference play. The Bengals are also 3-0 inside Reed Gym. Eastern Washington is now 1-5 and 0-3 in conference play.
Idaho State did not need all three matches to secure the doubles point.
Francis Filipovich and
Lukas Ridemar secured a 6-4 win at No. 3 before
David Felix and
Gary Rendek followed with an identical result on court No. 2.
Felix made quick work of his opponent in singles play. He took control of the match with a 6-3 win to open play before breezing through the second with a 6-1 final to secure the win.
Fynn Lohse won his match shortly after. The freshman topped EWU's Manuel Balce 7-5, 6-4 at court No. 3. Ridemar clinched the match for Idaho State with a win at No. 4 singles. After claiming a close first set 7-6 (2), he cruised to a 6-3 win in the second.
Eastern Washington earned its only point of the match at No. 1 singles. EWU's Jeremy Field and ISU's
Peter Trhac put on a show in a back-and-fourth match. Field was topped 5-7 in the opening frame of play before evening the score with a 6-3 win in the second. Trhac continued to battle before narrowly dropping the match tiebreak 10-8.
Filipovich added to the margin of victory at court No. 6. He won 6-3 in the first and capped the match with a 7-6 (3) victory in the second.
Rendek was the final player on the court for ISU. He trumped his opponent 6-3 to open play and had a shot at the straight-sets win, but was edged 6-7 (2) in the second. He responded with a 10-6 win in the match tiebreak to conclude play.
The Bengals have nearly three weeks rest before their next contest. The team resumes play with a road contest against Southern Utah March 16.
Idaho State 6, Eastern Washington 1
Singles competition
1. FIELD, Jeremy (EWU) def. TRHAC, Peter (ISU) 5-7, 6-3, 10-8
2. FELIX, David (ISU) def. KHACHATRYAN, Mikayel (EWU) 6-3, 6-1
3. LOHSE, Fynn (ISU) def. BALCE, Manuel (EWU) 7-5, 6-4
4. RIDEMAR, Lukas (ISU) def. BATS, Martin (EWU) 7-6 (7-2), 6-3
5. RENDEK, Gary (ISU) def. MUELLER, Jeremy (EWU) 6-3, 6-7 (2-7), 10-6
6. FILIPOVICH, Francis (ISU) def. DOUMEN, Wout (EWU) 6-3, 7-6 (7-3)
Doubles competition
1. TRHAC, Peter/LOHSE, Fynn (ISU) vs. FIELD, Jeremy/KHACHATRYAN, Mikayel (EWU) 4-4, unfinished
2. FELIX, David/RENDEK, Gary (ISU) def. BALCE, Manuel/BATS, Martin (EWU) 6-4
3. FILIPOVICH, Francis/RIDEMAR, Lukas (ISU) def. MUELLER, Jeremy/LAJOS, Jan (EWU) 6-4
Match Notes:
Eastern Washington 1-5, 0-3 BSC
Idaho State 4-5, 2-0 BSC
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2); Singles (2,3,4,1,6,5)
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