PHOENIX, Arizona – The Idaho State women's tennis team took on the 4
th seeded Weber State Wildcats in the semifinal round of the Big Sky Conference Tournament on Friday morning. The Wildcats downed the Bengals in the previous matchup this season, 4-3.
In the doubles matches Idaho State's Sol and
Lola O'Lideadha would fall to WSU's Morett/Davies 1-6 in the #1 doubles match. Needing the remaining two doubles matches,
Asem Shoybek and
Stefanya Shalakhova would come through in the #2 doubles match, defeating Lolofie/Ferreria 6-3. With it all coming down to the #3 doubles match,
Hana Cho and
Megan Lang-Gould, would not be able to get it done, falling 6-7 (3-7) to give Weber State the 1-0 lead heading into singles play.
To begin the singles matches Idaho State's
Lola O'Lideadha would fall to A. Morett 2-6, 0-6 in the #2 singles match, followed by
Sol O'Lideadha earning a 6-2, 6-2 win in the #3 singles match over D. Lolofie.
Asem Shoybek would even the team score at 2 points each, after she would defeat S. Ferreria 6-4, 6-2 in the #5 singles match.
Megan Lang-Gould would keep the momentum going for the Bengals, as she would down L. Yang Ping An in the #6 singles match 6-3, 4-6, 6-3. Needing just one more win to clinch a trip to the championship,
Hana Cho would fall in the #1 singles match to M. Davies 6-4, 0-6, 3-6, and
Stefanya Shalakhova would be unable to get it done in the clutch, dropping the #4 singles match to S. Schnell 7-5, 3-6, 0-6. Giving the Wildcats another 4-3 win over Idaho State.
Head Coach
Gretchen Maloney shared her thoughts on her team's play, "We had a fantastic season. I am really happy with how these girls competed all year.
We competed hard today as well, but didn't close out matches when we had our opportunities. The doubles point cost us today, and Weber State stepped up in the big moments.
I am super proud of this team overall… History making team."
The Wildcats advance to Saturday morning's championship round as they take on #3 Sacramento State following the Hornets' 4-1 victory over #2 Montana.
