PHOENIX, ARIZ. – The Idaho State men's tennis team's postseason run came to an end with a 4-0 loss to No. 1 Northern Arizona Friday morning at the Phoenix Tennis Center. The Bengals finished the season with a 9-12 record and 5-5 mark in Big Sky Conference play while making ISU's deepest run since 2006.
"Unfortunately, our season came to an end in the semifinals against a really strong NAU team," said Head Coach
Mark Rodel. "They proved today why they ended the season undefeated in Big Sky play."
David Felix and
Gary Rendek pulled through once again with a 6-3 win at No. 2 doubles to open play. However, Northern Arizona was on the right side of two close matches at No. 1 (7-5) and No. 3 (6-4) to secure the point.
"They narrowly won the doubles point against us," Rodel said. "The guys came out and executed well. I felt like it could have gone either way."
The Lumberjacks went on to win the first three singles contests in straight sets to clinch the match, which went unfinished at the remaining positions.
Fynn Lohse was the only ISU player to secure a set in singles play with a 6-4 win in the first before play was halted.
Peter Trhac was also up 5-3 in his second set after losing the first.
"They were able to take the momentum at positions four, five and six to seal the overall win," Rodel said. "However, we were in the thick of the action at positions 1-4 and were just a little bit short. I felt like we were definitely in the match until the final point was played on court No. 5. With that being said, I'm very proud of the Bengal performance. We came out and represented ISU in a top-class way sportsmanship and playing-wise."
The loss marks the end of on era for a respected senior class. Felix, Trhac and
Francis Filipovich will all move on next season. The Bengals will retain
Gary Rendek for his senior season and feature two promising sophomores in Lohse and
Lukas Ridemar.
"We can leave Phoenix with our heads held high and feel good about our season," Rodel said. "Thank you for all the support from our fans with both the great messages that we've received and the overall attendance at our home games. We look forward to building on this."
Northern Arizona 4, Idaho State 0
Singles competition
1. Tim Handel (NAU) vs. FELIX, David (ISU) 6-3, 5-3, unfinished
2. Lucas Taylor (NAU) vs. TRHAC, Peter (ISU) 6-4, 3-5, unfinished
3. Facundo Tumosa (NAU) def. RIDEMAR, Lukas (ISU) 6-2, 6-2
4. Chris Steele (NAU) vs. LOHSE, Fynn (ISU) 4-6, 5-4, unfinished
5. Ruben Montano (NAU) def. RENDEK, Gary (ISU) 6-4, 6-2
6. Tom Fisher (NAU) def. FILIPOVICH, Francis (ISU) 6-1, 6-4
Doubles competition
1. Tim Handel/Ruben Montano (NAU) def. TRHAC, Peter/LOHSE, Fynn (ISU) 7-5
2. FELIX, David/RENDEK, Gary (ISU) def. Chris Steele/Tom Fisher (NAU) 6-3
3. Lucas Taylor/Facundo Tumosa (NAU) def. FILIPOVICH, Francis/RIDEMAR, Lukas (ISU) 6-4
Match Notes:
Idaho State 9-12, 5-5 BSC
Northern Arizona 21-6, 10-0 BSC
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (3,6,5)
Big Sky Semifinals
