University of Northern Colorado Athletics
Saturday, April 1
Moscow, Idaho
2:00 pm
University of Northern Colorado
at
Idaho
@UNCO_MensTennis to Face Pair of Big Sky Opponents this Weekend
3/29/2017 10:58:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Bears will travel to Idaho, Eastern Washington
GREELEY, Colo. – After falling to Portland State at home on Sunday, Northern Colorado men's tennis will travel to Idaho and Eastern Washington this weekend with a chance to get its Big Sky conference record back to a .500 winning percentage. They will first play Idaho on April 1st at 2:00pm in Moscow, Idaho. Then Eastern Washington the next day, April 2nd at 11:00am in Cheney, Washington.
Men's Tennis (6-10, 3-5 Big Sky)
Last Time Out: Portland State University defeated Northern Colorado on Sunday by a score of 4-3. The Bears had a rocky start to the match and won just one of three doubles matches to trail 1-0. Then in singles play, Alex Vakouftsis played well, but could not muster enough to beat last season's Big Sky Player of the Year, Portland State's Nathan Boniel.
On a positive note, Agustin Lombardi played well in singles and doubles, going undefeated on the day and winning his match at No. 4 in three sets. The Bears also got wins at No. 3, Hayden Cramer, and No. 6, Cassell King. Northern Colorado was without the services of Connor Finerty, who was a late scratch from the lineup.
Need to Know: The Bears need one more win in their final five contests to eclipse their season win loss record of last season (6-16). Last year, UNC got by Idaho 4-3, but lost to Eastern Washington by the same score. Connor Finerty and Hayden Cramer picked up wins against the Eagles in doubles and Cassell King was a winner last year in singles.
Scouting Idaho (9-6, 4-2 Big Sky): The Vandals are coming off a 7-0 non-conference loss to Utah State but have played well against conference opponents this season, including wins over Weber State, Sacramento State, Idaho State, and North Dakota. They are led by junior Mark Kovacs, a native of Budapest, Hungary. In fifteen matches this season Kovacs has a 10-5 singles record, playing No. 1 in all but three team matches. As a team, Idaho is a young squad made up of zero seniors, two juniors, two sophomores, and four freshmen. They have an impressive No. 1 doubles team consisting of Mark Kovacs and Carlos Longhi Neto who have only lost one time in thirteen matches this spring.
Scouting Eastern Washington (9-6, 4-1 Big Sky): Eastern Washington has completely turned around its record from a year ago when they finished 8-18 overall. The Eagles were undefeated in conference play before losing to Idaho State 5-2 on March 18th. Although they have used eleven different doubles combinations, Eastern Washington does have 22-14 overall record in doubles. Senior, Robert Dula plays No. 1 singles for the team and has a 8-5 record, including a win last weekend against non-conference opponent Boise State, whom the team lost to 6-1. Eastern Washington is coached by Steven Clark, who is in his third year as head coach of the men's program.
Worthless Stat: Bears head coach Ben Gendron has been fairly consistent with his lineup this season. No one player on the team has played more than three different spots in singles and until the match against Portland State, the Bears had gone with the same three doubles pairings we have seen all spring with Cramer/Vakouftsis at No. 1, King/Pease at No. 2, and Finerty/Lombardi at No. 3.
Men's Tennis (6-10, 3-5 Big Sky)
Last Time Out: Portland State University defeated Northern Colorado on Sunday by a score of 4-3. The Bears had a rocky start to the match and won just one of three doubles matches to trail 1-0. Then in singles play, Alex Vakouftsis played well, but could not muster enough to beat last season's Big Sky Player of the Year, Portland State's Nathan Boniel.
On a positive note, Agustin Lombardi played well in singles and doubles, going undefeated on the day and winning his match at No. 4 in three sets. The Bears also got wins at No. 3, Hayden Cramer, and No. 6, Cassell King. Northern Colorado was without the services of Connor Finerty, who was a late scratch from the lineup.
Need to Know: The Bears need one more win in their final five contests to eclipse their season win loss record of last season (6-16). Last year, UNC got by Idaho 4-3, but lost to Eastern Washington by the same score. Connor Finerty and Hayden Cramer picked up wins against the Eagles in doubles and Cassell King was a winner last year in singles.
Scouting Idaho (9-6, 4-2 Big Sky): The Vandals are coming off a 7-0 non-conference loss to Utah State but have played well against conference opponents this season, including wins over Weber State, Sacramento State, Idaho State, and North Dakota. They are led by junior Mark Kovacs, a native of Budapest, Hungary. In fifteen matches this season Kovacs has a 10-5 singles record, playing No. 1 in all but three team matches. As a team, Idaho is a young squad made up of zero seniors, two juniors, two sophomores, and four freshmen. They have an impressive No. 1 doubles team consisting of Mark Kovacs and Carlos Longhi Neto who have only lost one time in thirteen matches this spring.
Scouting Eastern Washington (9-6, 4-1 Big Sky): Eastern Washington has completely turned around its record from a year ago when they finished 8-18 overall. The Eagles were undefeated in conference play before losing to Idaho State 5-2 on March 18th. Although they have used eleven different doubles combinations, Eastern Washington does have 22-14 overall record in doubles. Senior, Robert Dula plays No. 1 singles for the team and has a 8-5 record, including a win last weekend against non-conference opponent Boise State, whom the team lost to 6-1. Eastern Washington is coached by Steven Clark, who is in his third year as head coach of the men's program.
Worthless Stat: Bears head coach Ben Gendron has been fairly consistent with his lineup this season. No one player on the team has played more than three different spots in singles and until the match against Portland State, the Bears had gone with the same three doubles pairings we have seen all spring with Cramer/Vakouftsis at No. 1, King/Pease at No. 2, and Finerty/Lombardi at No. 3.
Players Mentioned
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