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International intrigue: Foreign players lead BSU tennis
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International flavor is a key component of the Boise State women’s tennis program. Five of the six Boise State players listed on the current roster hail from foreign countries. Women from Germany, New Zealand, Russia and Slovakia comprise the Bronco lineup and the only United States player found her way to Boise from Austin, Texas.
The recruiting of Head Coach Mark Tichenor may not be orthodox; at least compared to the recruiting demographics of the other athletic programs at BSU. Regardless, his recruiting has been successful, which is apparent in recent success of the team.
“Our goal is to be ranked somewhere in the 30s [nationally] this season and we feel that is achievable,” Tichenor said. “We climbed up to 44 last year and we plan to continue climbing. We’ve got good experience on this team and a knowledge of what it takes to win and that is very valuable.”
The Broncos reached their No. 44 ranking just prior to their qualification for the NCAA national tournament. The Broncos fell to Fresno State in the Western Athletic Conference tournament championship last spring, and also to No. 24 Indiana University in the opening round of the NCAA tournament.
“We are at a point where we are ready to move ahead,” Tichenor said. “We want this program to take a step forward and this is the year we really feel like that can happen. We’ve been to the tournament last year, but that’s last year and we’re ready to put that behind us and get even better.”
The consecutive losses slightly overshadowed a season’s worth of accomplishments, but it also helped to remind the team how much further it hopes to grow. The Broncos rolled their way to an 18-4 overall record, 7-1 in WAC competition and 6-4 against nationally ranked opponents.
Despite the great success in conference play the Broncos have failed to defeat Fresno State in each of the last two seasons.
Tichenor and his players aren’t deterred, however, and feel they simply have to prove they are good enough to compete at the top level.
“I don’t know that we would consider ourselves the second-best team in the WAC behind someone like Fresno State who is ranked 10th in the country,” Tichenor said. “But we know we can compete with them and that we can be very tough in this conference.”
The Broncos are currently in the middle of their fall schedule, which helps tremendously in the team’s building process towards spring competition. The women won’t compete as a team at all this fall but have been competing very well individually thus far.
The team split up on opening weekend with some players traveling to Washington State University for a tournament and others heading to Brigham Young University to compete. At WSU Bianca Jochimsen and Laura Baum capture the doubles title. At BYU Polina Kokoulina fought her way to the semifinals round before losing to the tournament’s eventual champion, Elizaveta Ezhova of BYU.
The trio is three of the most experienced players on the team and will all play important roles in developing the young talent on the team to make this season’s roster solid from one to six.
“Our older girls know what is expected of them this season and that is to provide a high level of leadership and example and to play well,” Tichenor said. “They’ve been in this program long enough now where they know what is expected. We expect a lot from our younger players too because everyone plays such an important role on this team and we need that to be successful.”
The women will appear at home for the first time this season when they host the Jack Taylor Classic tournament this weekend in Boise. The tournament will continue with solely individual competition and will run Friday-Sunday.
Jake Garcin
