Men’s tennis loses to No. 2 Baylor 7-0 (Jan. 24)
By Desmond Ordonez
The Boise State men’s tennis team was routed by the top-ranked No. 2 Baylor University Monday afternoon (Jan. 24) in Waco, Texas, 7-0. Senior Simon Arca Costas and junior Ryo Minakata led the Broncos, giving their opponents all they could handle during the nail-biting matches. Arca Costas lost in a third set tie-breaker at No. 2 singles. Meanwhile, Minakata came up short in a two-set match on court five that went 7-6 (5), 6-4.
Baylor swept the three doubles matches to claim the team point.
Down by one, the gap broke open even further for the Broncos as the Bears swept the first two singles matches on courts three and six to close within one of taking the team win.
Boise State freshman Pedro Liborio played up one position from where he had been competing at. The Portugal native took a loss to Baylor’s senior Adrian Boitan in a two-set match, 6-3, 6-0 to clinch the match for the Bears.
After winning set one, Arca Costas took on Baylor’s Matia Soto. Soto beat Arca Costas in the third set for a score of 3-6, 6-0, 1-0 to make the team score 6-0, Baylor.
The day’s final match was on court five, where Minakata faced Baylor junior Cole Gromley. Gromley won the close match-up winning 7-6 (5), 6-4.
The Broncos fell to 2-3 overall after the tough road loss. The team will look to bounce back as they head home for a three-match homestand on Feb. 4-6 when they host Montana, Seattle U and North Dakota.
Women’s basketball falls to the Cowgirls in Wyoming (Jan. 26)
By Matthew Valento
The University of Wyoming held Boise State women’s basketball to 28 shooting percentage as the Cowgirls split the regular-season series with a 61-47 win on Wednesday, Jan. 26.
Sophomore guard Mary Kay Naro led the Broncos with nine points. Freshman forward Trista Hull chipped in with eight points and a career-high 11 rebounds while freshman guard Jayda Clark contributed eight points off the bench as well.
Boise State was up early with a 6-5 lead before the Cowgirls went on a 9-0 run to take a 14-6 and would go on to lead the rest of the game. The Broncos would draw close on occasions in the second quarter but were never able to get over the hump.
Boise State plays next at San Jose State on Saturday (Jan.29) at 2 p.m. MST.
Men’s basketball defeats Fresno State in overtime to extend win streak (Jan. 28)
By Nate Lunak
The Boise State men’s basketball team improved to 17-4 on the season and 8-0 in the Mountain West, defeating Fresno State 68-63 in overtime to bring its winning streak to a school-record 14 games on Jan. 28.
The biggest factor in this victory was the Broncos’ 42.5 3-point percentage to the Bulldogs’ 29.4. Boise State notched nine more 3-pointers than Fresno State.
Redshirt senior guard Marus Shaver Jr. finished the game with 14 points and five rebounds. He also tied his season-high with three steals. His 3-pointer with 1.8 seconds remaining would send the game to overtime.
Redshirt senior guard Emmanuel Akot would lead the team in points (16), rebounds (seven), and assists (five). He would end the game with five 3-pointers, his second-highest total of the season.
Redshirt junior guard Max Rice would knock down three 3-pointers, his first time this season.
Fifth-year forward Abu Kigab would total 11 points, his 13th time scoring double digits this season.
Boise State extended their winning streak to 14 games, tying Auburn for the second-longest streak this season.
The Broncos will look to continue their success against Wyoming Thursday, Feb. 3. The Cowboys currently sit second in the Mountain West Conference.
Track & Field team breaks more records in Texas Tech Open and Washington invitational (Jan. 28)
By Adam Bridges
The track & field team made the record books with their performances in the Texas Tech Open and the Washington Invitational on Friday, Jan. 28.
“I am excited about the progress our program made this weekend,” said head coach Corey Ihmels. “Both groups excelled and pushed the limits of what they are capable of.”
Photo courtesy of Tyler McFarland
While at the Texas Tech Open, junior sprinter/hurdler Dafni Georgiou broke the school record in the preliminaries of the 60m hurdles again with a time of 8.46. She broke this time later on in the event’s semifinals with a time of 8.34.
This is the fourth time Georgiou has broken the school record after previously setting the record in 2020 and breaking that record with an 8.47 second time two weeks ago.
Georgiou also now owns all of Boise State’s top five times.
“We knew that [Georgiou] was ready,” said assistant coach Gavin O’Neal. “We knew that she was capable. There were a couple of technical things we’ve been working on, and she changed. She cleaned them up. That was the difference. I am super excited for her. She has been working so hard for this, but we’re not done. We know there’s more.”
The long-distance team had another great performance this season after setting records at the Washington Invitational.
Senior distance runner Dario De Caro continued to solidify his already great season after breaking the Boise State men’s 3,000m record with a time of 7:48.59. This time also ranks fourth in the NCAA.
Despite being the first to cross the finish line, De Caro finished off second overall at the invitational.
Senior Jonathan Shields made the record books with his performance as well. Shields posted a time of 3:59.39 in the men’s mile. This is the second-fastest time in program history.
“I am so proud of Dario and Johnny,” Ihmels said. “Both of them continue to push the envelope of what’s possible. These marks are elite, and I know they are both hungry to accomplish more. It’s a testament to their hard work along with the outstanding job our coaching staff has done in their development. It sets the bar for all of our athletes and really puts into reality what is possible.”
The team finished off 12 men and 13 women posting personal record times for a total of 25 overall.
Freshmen Ashley LaJocies and Yasmin Marghini posted personal best times that were 18 and 12 seconds faster than their previous best at the invitational.
“I’m looking forward to the next few weeks as we continue to fine-tune things heading towards the championship season,” Ihmels said.
Women’s basketball edged by San Jose State Spartans (Jan. 29)
By Mason Becker
The Boise State Women’s Basketball team fell just short of the win on Saturday, Jan. 29 losing to San Jose State 61-59.
With 18.7 seconds left in the game, Boise State trailed 61-58 with freshman guard Mary Kay Naro at the free-throw line. She managed to sink one of the two free throws, bringing the Broncos within two.
The Broncos fouled quickly on the next possession, sending San Jose State to the free-throw line, where they missed both shots.
Boise State had a chance to tie the game, but redshirt senior Dominique Leonidas’s jumper was blocked with four seconds left and the clock expired, giving Boise State the loss.
Sophomore forward Abby Muse had another strong game, recording her seventh double-double of the season with 14 points and 11 rebounds.
Leonidas tied Muse for the team-high of points with 14, while Naro added another 12 points and three assists.
With this loss, the Broncos move to 7-13 overall on the season and 3-6 in the Mountain West Conference. Boise State returns home on Feb. 2 to host Fresno State, with tipoff scheduled for 6:30 P.M.
