SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – The Idaho State women's tennis team opened their spring slate with two away matches, the first in Logan, Utah versus Utah State, and the second in Salt Lake City against the University of Utah.
Idaho State's opening week of play was highlighted by their 5-2 season-opening win over the Utah State Aggies.
Beginning in the doubles matches in the Bengals match at Utah State, the Bengals would come out on fire, sweeping the Aggies. The first duo for ISU to get the victory was
Sydney Morris and
Hana Cho playing in the #3 doubles spot, defeating Brilhante/Kukreti, 6.2. In the #1 doubles match was Sol and
Lola O'Lideadha who downed Kung/Hilario 6-4, and in the #2 doubles spot
Asem Shoybek and
Stefanya Shalakhova defeated Ozturk/Sanchez, 6-4.
Heading into singles play the Bengals kept the same energy as they did in the doubles,
Lola O'Lideadha got the first singles win in the #3 singles match over L. Kung 6-3, 6-3, followed by
Hana Cho getting the win in the #1 singles match 4-6, 7-6 (7-3), 6-1.
Asem Shoybek would not be able to earn her first collegiate victory, falling to Z. Ozturk in the #2 singles match 2-6, 4-6, and
Sydney Morris would not be able to get her first singles win on the season, falling to I. Nespor in the #5 singles match 2-6, 4-6. In the #4 singles
Sol O'Lideadha clinched the team win for Idaho State with a 7-6 (7-5), 6-3 win over N. Kukreti, and in the #6 singles match
Stefanya Shalakhova would solidify the Bengals win with a comeback three set win 4-6, 7-5, 1-0 (10-7) over M. Pureco. After Shalakhova's match the Bengals would walk out of Logan with the 5-2 win for their third consecutive victory over the Aggies.
Beginning in the #1 doubles match vs the University of Utah, the twins, Lola &
Sol O'Lideadha fell to Cruz/Lopez 0-6, in the #2 doubles match
Asem Shoybek and
Stefanya Shalakhova were able to secure the lone victory of the day for Idaho State, 6-4. In the #3 doubles match
Sydney Morris and
Hana Cho could not get it done, falling to Akid/Lyman 2-6.
In singles play the Bengals could not find much success with all but one player falling in straight sets.
Hana Cho in the #1 singles match took M. Lopez to three sets, but could not pull out the win, falling 6-4, 2-6, 8-10. The Bengals would fall to the Utes 0-7.
Head coach
Gretchen Maloney shared her thoughts on her team's play from the opening weekend of the season, "Such a great performance against Utah State. The team really worked hard on their consistency and depth and really fought hard for every match. I was really happy with our doubles against Utah…
Hana Cho battled really hard and almost got a win at number one.
Asem Shoybek and
Stefanya Shalakhova won their doubles against Utah and played great. Overall, a great start to our season."
The Bengals' next matches will be on the road in Boise, Idaho as they take on Boise State on Thursday, January 25
th and then Washington State in Boise the following day Friday, January 26
th.
