POCATELLO, Idaho- The Idaho State men's tennis team played BYU tough on Saturday night in Provo, falling 5-2.
The Bengals earned the doubles point with
Patrik Trhac and
Gary Rendek coming up with a 7-5 win at No. 1 doubles over Sam Tullis and Ben Gajardo.
Lukas Ridemar and
Yohann Prinsen knocked off Sean Hill and David Ball 6-4 to earn the doubles point.
"We played incredible doubles today considering we had to change our lineup due to
Fynn Lohse being ill," Idaho State Interim Head Coach Mark Rodel said. "We came out and won at one and two. We put ourselves in a really strong position."
Rendek then earned the first singles win at No. 3 with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Ben Gajardo to give Idaho State a 2-0 lead.
The Bengals had other closes matches throughout the evening. Ridemar dropped a tough 7-5, 7-6 (7-2) match to Hill at No. 1 singles.
"Lukas had an exceptional performance against the No. 1 player in our region," Rodel said.
Despite a 6-4, 6-3 loss at No. 2 singles to Tullis, Rodel credited Trhac for play a strong match.
"The guys overall played exceptionally well and we pushed BYU as far as we have done," Rodel said. "We just need to get some improved performances out of the bottom of our lineup in singles."
Idaho State hosts Sacramento State on Feb. 28 at 3 p.m. in Reed Gym.
