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Women’s tennis host Bronco Quad this weekend
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The Boise State Bronco women’s tennis team has a big tournament coming up this weekend. They are hosting Lewis and Clark State on Friday at 3 p.m. and Montana on Friday at 10 p.m..
But although the Broncos carry a hefty 75th ranking among NCAA teams, head coach Mark Tichenor said the competition won’t be easy.
“I think Montana is one of the best teams they’ve had,” Tichenor said. “I saw some of their results, and when I’ve seen the results I’ve seen a new No. 1 player. It’ll be a good test for us.
“And when it comes to Lewis and Clark, I don’t know anything about them. They are always nationally ranked as an NAIA team. They’ve got some really good players at the top of the team. But we’ve had a few more matches than they have, which will be to our advantage.”
As for the Broncos?
Boise State is having a solid year, with young players rising to the top; players that Tichenor said made him pretty confident.
“We’re ranked 75th in the country,” he said. “We’ve got Megan Bjorkman, who’s a senior. We’ve got Hadley MacFarlane, another senior, and Alanah Carroll, another senior, but she just got a stress fracture and will be out for a few weeks.
“But we’ve got some solid young players too. One of our freshmen, Tatiana Ganzha (from Russia) is 20-4 on the year. That is really an amazing job for a freshman.”
But what makes the Boise State team strong, according to Tichenor, is not individual efforts or records. Tichenor said that the Broncos have reached a level of “team” that most teams can’t get to.
“We look at how the team’s going and not so much at individual records,” Tichenor said. “It’s all about the team. Not everybody gets to play, but everybody gets to contribute. When we have something good happen to us, it’s because of hard work as a team.”
And as the Broncos go head to head with teams that may not seem equals, Tichenor said his blue and orange are not going in looking past this tournament.
“I think like every sport, you want to respect every team you play,” Tichenor said. “You have to have determination against everybody. It can’t just be Oregon or Oklahoma State; it’s got to be everybody that is taken seriously. If you take anybody for granted, and not play, you’ll get surprised.
“We took (Monday and Tuesday) off. Now we need a good practice (Wednesday) and Thursday. At that point, we control our own destiny.”
And what will be the Broncos’ strategy for team success in this tournament?
“First and foremost we want to play every match with passion,” Tichenor said. “We’re a vocal team. So first and foremost with that. And we’ve got to be cheering for each other. Ultimately every match is individual, but the team is greater than any individual player. One player can’t carry us.”
Tichenor finished by giving an invitation to all Broncos fans to come out and support the talented group of women he has on the court. “I think when you see our team you see passion, you see emotion and you see them cheering for each other on the court,” he said. “You see women loving to compete. You see energy. You’re so close to anything. At Appleton you’re sitting right on the court. Every seat is like a front row seat. When you see our team, or the men’s team’s energy and passion, and you’re right on top of it, it’s just like sitting front-row at a basketball or football game.
“You’ll see our facial expressions; you’ll here what people say. It’s a great thing.”
Mike Sharp
Sports Writer