Vandals prepare for old rival

Early in the season, chemistry is key for Idaho

After a WAC Championship and a NCAA Tournament berth last season coupled with being picked third in the preseason Big Sky Coaches Poll, the Idaho womens tennis team isnt afforded the luxury of being an unknown going into this years season.

I tell the girls every team we play is going to be a team that wants to beat us, Idaho coach Mariana Cobra said. Being picked top three in the Big Sky always puts the target on your back.

This message isnt lost on the players either.

I think winning conference last year made us known and other teams around the region want to beat us even more now knowing that we got to go to NCAAs, senior Sophie Vickers said. So in a sense, we have a target on our backs a little bit, but going into a new conference, it is a whole different story.

The teams in the conference arent the only teams looking to knock off the Vandals. Before they open up Big Sky play Feb. 13, they have two more nonconference matches, the first which is against a former conference opponent in the Seattle U Redhawks Saturday. The Vandals go into the game with a 1-1 record.

Idaho is familiar with the Redhawks as they are one of the teams they faced last year in the WAC.

Any team you have beaten in the past can always come back and they want to beat you, Cobra said. We are playing in Seattle. We know they are going to be scrappy, but if we keep doing the things we are doing in practice we should match up well with them.

Even with the conference switch, the NCAA Tournament appearance last season still is on the minds of every of players and teams. The other teams in the conference are aware of Idahos past success.

These early nonconference games are great for team chemistry, Cobra said, but the more important aspect of these nonconference matches is to get the lineup in order going into the conference portion of the schedule.

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Vandals prepare for old rival