POCATELLO, Idaho – The Bengals women's tennis team returned to Reed Gym this weekend, facing off against Montana State and Weber State in Reed gym.
In the Bengals match vs Montana State the doubles matches point went to the Bobcats after Lola and Sol O'Lideadha fell in the #1 doubles match, 6-7, and Sydney Morris and Hana Cho just fell, 5-7, in the #2 doubles match. Stefanya Shalakhova and Megan Lang-Gould would earn the win in the #3 doubles match, 6-2, however the Bengals would trail, 0-1, heading into singles play.
To begin the singles matches Lola O'Lideadha would earn the victory in the #2 singles match, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, followed by Sol O'Lideadha winning in the #3 singles match, 7-6 (7-4), 6-4. Hana Cho would keep it rolling for Idaho State, getting the win in the #1 singles match, 6-4, 7-5, giving the Bengals a 3-1 lead over the Bobcats. Needing just one more singles win to clinch, Stefanya Shalakhova in the #4 singles match would come through in the clutch, winning 6-2, 5-7, 6-4 to give ISU the team win. To round out singles play Sydney Morris would fall in the #6 singles match, 4-6, 1-6, and Megan Lang-Gould would just fall in the #5 singles match, 5-7, 4-6. The Bengals would walk away with a 4-3 win over Montana State.
The following day Idaho State was right back at it, as they took on the Weber State Wildcats.
In doubles play versus WSU, Idaho State's Lola and Sol O'Lideadha would be unable to begin the day with a win, falling in the #1 doubles match 5-7. Teammates, Hana Cho and Megan Lang-Gould would face the same fate, falling 4-6 in the #3 doubles match to give the Wildcats the doubles point.
To begin singles play, Asem Shoybek would look to get the Bengals going, cruising to a win in the #4 singles match, 6-3, 6-3. However, Hana Cho (#1), Lola O'Lideadha (#2), and Megan Lang-Gould (#5) would all fall in straight sets, giving Weber State the clinch. In the final two singles matches Sol O'Lideadha would earn the win in the #3 singles match, 7-6 (7-4), 6-1, and Stefanya Shalakhova would get the win in the #6 singles match, 6-3, 7-6 (9-7).
Following the win over Montana State and the loss to Weber State the Bengals' record moves to 9-5 overall and 3-2 in conference play.
Head Coach Gretchen Maloney shared her thoughts on the team's play after two tough conference matches, "What an incredible weekend of college tennis. Both matches came down to a few big points. Against Montana State we played with more confidence under pressure. Whereas against Weber we struggled in some critical situations. Overall, I'm so proud of this team and their grit and determination to work hard every day and get better. I'm so blessed to have four seniors that lead with positivity."
Idaho State will play their final match in Reed Gym on the season on April 5th at 1 PM as they host the Eastern Washington Eagles.