POCATELLO, Idaho- While the Idaho State women's tennis team was disappointed in its 4-0 loss to NAU, a team that would go on to win its third straight Big Sky Conference Championship, it shouldn't be forgotten the success the program has had the last two years.
For the first time since the early 90's (1990-93), ISU has finished with back-to-back .500 seasons or better. Idaho State finished 13-7 this year and 8-8 in 2021. The 13 wins is also the most since the Bengals went 15-7 in 1996.
Idaho State went into this year's Big Sky Conference tournament as the No. 3 seed and advanced to the semi-finals for only the sixth time since 1995.
"This year we had a deep lineup," Idaho State coach
Gretchen Maloney said. "That really helped get some of the wins we had. We got wins that we hadn't gotten in a while with Grand Canyon and Idaho."
Idaho State beat the Vandals for the first time in program history, winning 4-3 in the final match of the regular season. Less than a week later ISU beat Idaho 4-1 in the Big Sky Conference tournament.
ISU also snapped a three-game losing streak against the Eagles with a 6-1 victory. The win was only its fifth over Eastern Washington.
The Bengals also beat Grand Canyon for the second time in nine meetings, beat Sacramento State for the second-straight season after the series was 17-0 in favor of the Hornets and beat Utah State for the third time in five years.
"The girls were willing to fight every match," Maloney said. "There were a few hiccups but overall they brought it every match. We spent a lot of time on mental preparation this year and it really helped."
The future looks bright as ISU loses only two seniors in
Alexandra Arkhipov and
Adriene Pavek.
Anchoring the lineup this past year as well as next year has been the play of four sophomores,
Hana Cho,
Megan Lang-Gould and twin sisters Lola and
Sol O'Lideadha. Freshman
Leah Kuruvilla joined the team this year as a freshman and was key in the team's success.
"Leah was a nice addition to our team," Maloney said. "I am not sure we are where we are at without her."
On the sophomores, Maloney said, "They hold each other accountable and they are all on the same page. They take it very serious and they are very coachable. They will hit extra if they need too. They push each other to get better in practice and they really love the game. They want more to get better. They are really driven."
"Hanna took her role at No. 1 and did it fearlessly," Maloney said. "She believed she would win every match. The twins battled through injuries and played great. She was really coachable. Megan was healthy this year and that was awesome."
The success of the group of returners keeps Maloney always looking for ways to improve as a coach to help grow the program and each individual.
"I am always looking how I can improve tactically and mentally," Maloney said. "What do I need to do to push them to the next level? It makes me keep improving. I know they are hungry and want more."
