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Bronco tennis teams drop first round NCAA matches
The No. 36 Boise State men’s tennis team fought hard to the end of their 2008 season, falling in the first round of the NCAA Men’s Tennis Championships.
The No. 3-seeded Broncos (21-12) dropped a grueling 4-2 match to No. 2-seeded University of California at USC’s Marks Stadium last Saturday morning.
“Today was like our season,” Head Coach Greg Patton said. “We fought to the end. We lost some tough 4-3 matches this year. We hoped to at least extend it to 4-3 today.
Cal’s depth was deeper than ours. Cal was mining gold, we were mining silver. We’re strong at the top, but their depth was impressive.”
The Broncos ended their season with a 21-12 record and will say goodbye to five seniors: Luke Shields, Piotr Dilaj, Eric Roberson, Brent Werbeck and Jamaal Hepburn.
Boise State finished 14-11 on the season against ranked opponents and had a near perfect home record of 16-1, proving their season was very successful.
However, junior Clancy Shields will continue his season as he has qualified as an NCAA Individual competitor in singles play and will also join older brother Luke Shields in the doubles draw.
The NCAA Individual Championships will be played in Tulsa, Okla. May 21-26, just after the NCAA Team Championships.
On the other side of things, the BSU women’s tennis team ended their outstanding 2008 season on Friday, dropping to No. 23 University of Kentucky, 4-1, in their NCAA First Round match at Vanderbilt University’s Currey Tennis Center.
The No. 44 Broncos fell to 20-7 on the season while the Wildcats improved to 16-9 on the season and advance to Saturday’s NCAA Second Round.
With the loss, the Broncos conclude their 2008 season with a 20-7 record.
Although the season got off to a rocky start with a 5-4 record, the Broncos turned the season into one of Boise State’s best seasons in history.
Their turn-around success included a 14-3 run to conclude the season and allow them to qualify for the NCAA tournament for the second year in a row.
Humanitarian Bowl changes dates
The 2008 Roady’s Humanitarian Bowl will be played on Tuesday, Dec. 30, at 2:30 p.m. (MST) on ESPN.
The game, the 12th since the bowl was founded in 1997, will feature a matchup between teams from the Atlantic Coast Conference and the Western Athletic Conference.
“The Roady’s Humanitarian Bowl continues to be a wonderful tradition in the state of Idaho,” Executive Director Kevin McDonald said. “We are extremely happy to have a committed local title sponsor in Roady’s Truck Stops and an exclusive time spot on ESPN. This year’s game should be another great success."