Men's Tennis Battles Aggies Tough in Season Opener

Box Score RESULTS 

POCATELLO, Idaho- The Idaho State men's tennis team opened its season at Utah State on Saturday afternoon. The Bengals battled the Aggies before falling 5-2 at the Sports Academy and Racquet Club.

"I think we have a group of competitors that come out and give it their all," Idaho State coach Alexander Free said. "I think the match was decided by really small moments and small margins and I think it reinforces to the guys that the process we are using is working. The more  that we buy into it, the more work, the better we are going to be."

Patrik Trhac and Aleksander Petrovic each picked up wins for the wins for the Bengals. At No. 1 doubles the duo earned a 6-4 win over Felipe Acosta and Javier Ruiz.

"I thought Aleksander came out and really played," Free said. "He followed up a great doubles performance by a really good singles performance.

At No. 1 singles Trhac beat Sergiu Bucur 0-6, 6-2, 6-1. Petrovic earned a 6-2, 6-4 win at No. 3 singles over Roko Savin.

"I thought Patrik played really well," Free said. "He came out in doubles with Alex and played about as good as you can play. He really set the tone in terms of energy. Then losing the first set like he did in singles and rebounding I think shows the growth that he has in him as a player."

At No. 4 singles Hiroki Fujita lost a tough 7-6, 2-6, 7-5 match to Souf El Mesbahi. In the third-set tiebreaker Fujita came from 5-3 down in games to lead 6-5. The tiebreaker ended up being 11-9 in favor of the El Mesbahi.

"That was a great battle," Free said. "As a freshman he came up a little short but that shows a lot of promise. I think we have a good group of guys on a team that's talented and can accomplish some big goals."

At No. 2 singles Jaime Castillo-Lopez lost 6-4, 6-2. At No. 5 singles Robert Steinhauser lost a tough 4-6, 7-5, 6-0 match to Javier Ruiz. At No. 6 singles Ege Cankus lost 6-2, 6-4.

In doubles play, Steinhauser and Rendek lost 7-6 and Cankus and Castillo-Lopez lost 6-2.

Tennis Match Results
Idaho State vs Utah State
Jan 23, 2021 at Logan, Utah
(Sports Academy & Racquet Club)
Utah State 5, Idaho State 2

Singles competition
1. Patrik Trhac (ISU) def. BUCUR, Sergiu (USU) 0-6, 6-2, 6-1
2. ACOSTA, Felipe (USU) def. Jaime Castillo-Lopez (ISU) 6-4, 6-2
3. Aleksander Petrovic (ISU) def. SAVIN, Roko (USU) 6-2, 6-4
4. EL MESBAHI, Souf (USU) def. Hiroki Fujita (ISU) 7-6 (7-5), 2-6, 7-5 (11-9)
5. RUIZ, Javier (USU) def. Robert Steinhauser (ISU) 4-6, 7-5, 6-0
6. RIGBY, Keanu (USU) def. Ege Cankus (ISU) 6-2, 6-4

Doubles competition
1. Patrik Trhac/Aleksander Petrovic (ISU) def. ACOSTA, Felipe/RUIZ, Javier (USU) 6-4
2. EL MESBAHI, Souf/SAVIN, Roko (USU) def. Robert Steinhauser/Gary Rendek (ISU) 7-6 (8-6)
3. BUCUR, Sergiu/RIGBY, Keanu (USU) def. Ege Cankus/Jaime Castillo-Lopez (ISU) 6-2

Match Notes:
Idaho State 0-1
Utah State 1-0
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (3,2,1,6,4,5)
T-4:15 A-50