POCATELLO, Idaho – The Idaho State women's tennis team evened its conference record with a commanding 5-2 win over Portland State Friday afternoon. The Bengals started strong with a sweep for the doubles point and clinched the match with solid play in singles.
"Today was such a great battle till the end," said Head Coach
Gretchen Maloney. "We came out really strong in the doubles and won the point with a lot of energy. Portland State was really tough this year at singles and we had to work hard to get the wins that we got."
Idaho State took the advantage in doubles play with
Louise-Mare Botes and
Alexandra Arkhipov claiming a 6-1 victory at the No. 2 position.
Madison Fenske and
Melissa Coburn sealed the point for the Bengals with a 6-4 win at No. 3.
Botes drew first blood in singles play with a straight-sets win over PSU's Lotti Meszaros. She cruised to a 6-2 victory in the first set before sealing the match with a 6-3 win.
Portland State won its first point of the match at No. 4 singles in a tight contest and the Vikings looked to pull even with the Bengals with a win at court No. 1.
Hristina Cvetkovic topped Jacinta Milenkoski 6-4 in the opening frame before falling 3-6 in the second. The junior fell behind 4-5 in the third before winning back-to-back games to claim the match with a 7-5 win.
With the Bengals holding a 3-1 advantage,
Angela Walker clinched the match with a dominant 6-2, 6-1 victory at position No. 5.
Portland State claimed another point at No. 3 before
Megan Poe wrapped up play with a 7-5, 6-4 win at No. 6.
"Hristina played solid and really used her strengths well today," Maloney said. "Louise played smart and Angie was so clean with very few errors. Megan came back from being down and really just started playing smart with a great strategy."
Every Idaho State player that stepped on the court picked up a win in either singles or doubles play.
The Bengals, now 4-4 overall and 1-1 in conference play, return to Reed Gym tomorrow at noon for a Big Sky matchup with the Eastern Washington Eagles.
Idaho State 5, Portland State 2
Singles competition
1. CVETKOVIC, Hristina (ISU) def. MILENKOSKI, Jacinta (PSU) 6-4, 3-6, 7-5
2. BOTES, Louise-Mare (ISU) def. MESZAROS, Lotti (PSU) 6-2, 6-3
3. NIKITOVIC, Nina (PSU) def. COBURN, Melissa (ISU) 5-7, 6-2, 7-6 (7-4)
4. ZADOR, Eszter (PSU) def. ARKHIPOV, Alexandra (ISU) 6-4, 7-6 (7-2)
5. WALKER, Angela (ISU) def. VALK, Alli (PSU) 6-2, 6-1
6. POE, Megan (ISU) def. REES, Taylor (PSU) 7-5, 6-4
Doubles competition
1. POE, Megan/CVETKOVIC, Hristina (ISU) vs. MILENKOSKI, Jacinta/NIKITOVIC, Nina (PSU) 3-4, unfinished
2. BOTES, Louise-Mare/ARKHIPOV, Alexandra (ISU) def. MESZAROS, Lotti/ZADOR, Eszter (PSU) 6-1
3. FENSKE, Madison/COBURN, Melissa (ISU) def. VALK, Alli/REES, Taylor (PSU) 6-4
Match Notes:
Portland State 0-4, 0-3 BSC
Idaho State 4-4, 1-1 BSC
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3); Singles (2,4,1,5,3,6)
T-4:22 A-42
