SACRAMENTO—The Vandal women's tennis team played to a hard fought 4-3 loss on Saturday against Big Sky rival Sacramento State. Idaho continues in California on Sunday, taking on former Western Athletic Conference rival San Jose State.

Sac State got up early on the Vandals, taking the doubles point. The Hornets got wins on the No. 1 and No. 2 courts. The No. 3 court was left unfinished, with the point already decided.

“We put ourselves in a good position today,” head coach Mariana Cobra explained. “I was proud of we competed. We played as a team today and fought to the end.”

Idaho (10-7) trailed 2-0 before Belen Barcenilla was able to put Idaho on the board. The senior scored a 6-0, 6-2 win on the No. 5 court over Sac State's Andie Mouzes. Lucia Badillos and Marianna Petrei recorded wins in No. 6 and No. 1 play to put the Vandals up 3-2.

Ana Loaiza Esquivias tied the match up for Hornets, pulling out a 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 win over Celine Koets in No. 3 play. The deciding point came down to the No. 4 court, between Maria Tavares and Deimante Bulatovaite. The Hornets won the first set, 7-6(3). Tavares battled back to force a third set with a 6-3 win. Bulatovaite ended the day getting a 6-4 win to clinch the match.

“This was a good test for us,” Cobra said. “We put ourselves in a position to win today. It was good for us to see where we are as a team. I feel like we are close to getting these tight matches to go our way.”

Idaho closes out its three-match road trip with a trip to San Jose on Sunday. The Vandals will return home on April 1, to face Eastern Washington.