CHENEY, Wash. – After a two-week break from competition, the Eastern Washington University men's tennis team will host Southern Utah (Apr. 13) and Idaho State (Apr. 14) this weekend for two Big Sky Conference matches. These are the last home matches of the season. The Eagles are 6-9 overall and 2-4 in conference play going into the weekend.
Both matches take place in the Jim Thorpe Fieldhouse and are open and complimentary to the public.
"As usual, this time of year it comes down to just doing the right things every day in practice regarding grit," said head coach Steve Clark. "Each guy being able to look himself in the mirror and asking 'Did I do everything I could mentally, physically and emotionally to make my teammates and myself better in the process?' We played most of the year banged up and missing as much as three guys from the lineup, so we need to rise to the occasion with all of our guys now. Let it rip."
The first serve against Southern Utah is set for 2 p.m. The Thunderbirds are 13-7 overall and 3-4 in conference going into Friday's match. They are most recently coming off a weekend in Montana where they lost to Montana (Apr. 7) 2-5 and went on to beat Montana State (Apr. 8) 5-2. The last time these teams matched up in 2017 the Eagles came out on top 6-1.
Saturday's match against Idaho State starts at 12 p.m. and is Senior Day for the Eagles. Seniors that will be honored include Ricardo Almeida, Scott Paz, Victor Pereira and Flavien Raveau.
Idaho State is coming off a losing weekend where they faced Sacramento State (Apr. 6) and lost 2-5 and Boise State (Apr. 8) and lost 3-4. The Vandals only have one match after Eastern before the Big Sky Championships. The last time the Eagles faced the Vandals Eastern lost 2-5.
Eastern most recently competed two weeks ago in California where they lost to San Diego State (1-6) and UC Irvine (0-7). Following this weekend the Eagles travel to Idaho mid-week (Apr. 18).
For more information on Eastern Washington's men's tennis team, follow @EWUAthletics on Twitter and Instagram and like EWU men's tennis on Facebook.
