BOZEMAN, Mont. – The Idaho State men's tennis team claimed a 5-2 victory over Montana State at the Bobcat-Anderson Tennis Center Sunday afternoon. The Bengals easily took the doubles point and despite several tight matches, prevailed with a 4-2 mark in singles play.
"The Bengals came out and fought hard today," said Head Coach
Mark Rodel. "They came away with a really close 5-2 win that could have gone either way, so the score doesn't really reflect the justice. The match was closed out by
Francis Filipovich and
Gary Rendek. We set ourselves up in a really good position with some strong doubles to start the match. Overall it was a good win."
The red-hot duo of
David Felix and Rendek opened play with a definitive win at No. 2 doubles. The two dropped just one set in a 6-1 win. Shortly after,
Peter Trhac and
Fynn Lohse clinched the point with another decisive win (6-2) at No. 1.
Felix built upon his strong performance in doubles with a 6-4, 6-3 win to open singles play. However, Montana State captured the next two matches to pull even at 2-2. Lohse was defeated in straight sets despite playing tiebreakers in both. Trhac also played a tight contest at No. 2 with a 2-6, 6-3, 7-5 loss.
Idaho State responded with three-straight wins at positions four through six, all of which took three sets to determine a winner.
Lukas Ridemar put ISU back in front with a comeback win at No. 4. The freshman fell 4-6 in the first set and avoided elimination with a 7-6 win in the second. He then topped his opponent 6-2 to claim the victory.
Filipovich took command of his match with a 6-2 win in the first before falling 3-6 in the second. The senior reset and took the third set 6-3 to clinch the match for the Bengals. Rendek closed play with a hard-fought victory at No. 5 that included two tiebreakers. He rallied from a difficult loss in the first set to win the match 6-7, 6-4, 7-6.
Idaho State has just two matches remaining in the regular season and has moved to 8-9 with a 5-3 record in Big Sky play. The Bengals have just one match next week with a contest against Sacramento State scheduled for 11 a.m. next Sunday, April 14.
Idaho State 5, Montana State 2
April 7, 2019 at Bozeman, Montana (Bobcat-Anderson Tennis Center)
Singles competition
1. FELIX, David (ISU) def. FLINK, Alexander (MSU) 6-4, 6-3
2. BROWN, Drew (MSU) def. TRHAC, Peter (ISU) 2-6, 6-3, 7-5
3. ESPINOZA, Joaquin (MSU) def. LOHSE, Fynn (ISU) 7-6, 7-6
4. RIDEMAR, Lukas (ISU) def. DAMGAARD QVIST, C. (MSU) 4-6, 7-6, 6-2
5. RENDEK, Gary (ISU) def. SMITH, Creel (MSU) 6-7, 6-4, 7-6
6. FILIPOVICH, Francis (ISU) def. ZELVER, Marcos (MSU) 6-2, 3-6, 6-3
Doubles competition
1. TRHAC, Peter/LOHSE, Fynn (ISU) def. FLINK, Alexander/BROWN, Drew (MSU) 6-2
2. FELIX, David/RENDEK, Gary (ISU) def. SMITH, Creel/ESPINOZA, Joaquin (MSU) 6-1
3. FILIPOVICH, Francis/RIDEMAR, Lukas (ISU) vs. DAMGAARD QVIST, C./WOOD, Grant (MSU) no result
Records: Idaho State 8-9/5-3 Big Sky, Montana State 3-10/2-4 Big Sky
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1); Singles (1,3,2,4,6,5)
