Arrow-right Camera
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

UI men, women tennis champs

The Idaho men’s and women’s tennis teams won Big Sky Conference championships Sunday in Gold River, California, and earned berths into the NCAA tournaments.

The second-seeded Vandals men won its second straight Big Sky title with a 4-2 win over sixth-seeded Northern Arizona after losing the doubles point. Jackson Varney, Cristobal Ramos Salazar, Mark Kovacs and Felipe Fonseca scored singles victories for the Vandals with Fonseca’s win the clincher.

The second-seeded Idaho women ended No. 1 Sacramento State’s run of 12 consecutive Big Sky titles with a 4-3 victory to earn an NCAA berth.

The title came down to the No. 6 singles match that freshman Lucia Badillos won 3-6, 7-5, 6-3.

Emmie Marx, Rita Bermudez and Belen Barcenilla won the Vandals other three points after Idaho lost the doubles point to start the match.

Tournament fields will be announced on Tuesday.

Golf

Whitworth’s second-place finish at the Northwest Conference tournament in Sunriver, Oregon, clinched the men’s championship for the Pirates and an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III tournament.

Whitworth clinched the overall title based on points earned in the conference’s Fall and Spring Classics plus the NWC tournament, finishing one point ahead of Willamette.

Whitworth finished the two-day NWC tournament at 42-over 618. Willamette was first at 602. Samson Martinez led the Pirates, tying for sixth place at 8-over 152, with teammate Andrew Dodge at 153.

Martinez earned first-team All-NWC honors based on his finishes at the three NWC events. Dodge and Oliver Rudnicki are second-teamers.

Whitworth’s women’s team was third at Sunriver, and finished third in the final standings. George Fox won the tournament and conference titles.

Nicole Lomax led Whitworth with a ninth-place finish at 18-over 162, a stroke ahead of teammates Chelsea Bayley and Michal Schuster. Lomax and Bayley earned second-team all-conference honors.

Softball

No. 20 Cal slugged three home runs as the Golden Bears (34-13, 7-11) handed No. 18 Washington (37-13, 8-9) a 9-5 loss in Pac-12 play.