Women’s golf finished second in Arizona (April 4-5)
By Jenna Vitamanti
Boise State women’s golf placed sixth overall at the Cowgirl Classic in Maricopa, Arizona, on April 4-5.
Sophomore Franca Polla recorded a second-place finish after hitting 5-under in the second round. This was counted as the lowest round of any player in the tournament. Polla’s score also marked the fourth-lowest round in Bronco history.
“Franca’s overcome some challenges in the past couple of weeks, so to see her bounce back and perform the way she did in this tournament is extremely exciting,” said head coach Kailin Downs. “I’ve known she was capable of a round like that (67), because she has done it in the past. Her overall performance this week shows what she is capable of when she plays her game.”
The Broncos tied for the seventh three-round total in stroke and relationship to par in program history with a team score of 888.
Fifth-year Lexi Perry recorded rounds of 73-74-74 (+5) which tied for 17th. Perry racked up her fourth top-25 finish for this season, marking the twentieth of her career.
The Broncos will play in the Chambers Bay Invitational in University Place, Washington, April 11-12.
Men’s golf takes first at Redhawk Invitational (April 4-5)
By Nate Lunak
On April 5, Boise State men’s golf placed first at the 2022 Redhawk Invitational. Senior Max Charles led the Broncos to the win while also winning medalist honors.
Play was suspended on Monday, after the first round due to bad weather. It was decided that one more round would be played Tuesday to decide the winner.
Boise State finished with only three over at a total of 287, which was five better than Abilene Christian University which won second place. With this being the Broncos’ second tournament win this year, it becomes the second time in school history they have won two invitationals in the same year.
Charles shot par on the front nine holes and then three birdies on the back nine to secure the victory. This is the second tournament win in Charles’ career.
Two more athletes joined in the top 10. Senior Hugo Townsend and redshirt sophomore Alex Talbot both went one over tying for seventh place.
Fifth-year Skyler Eubank also performed well, shooting only 3 over to place 15th.
The team’s next match will be April 15-16 at the Thunderbird Invitational at Papago Golf Club in Tempe, Arizona.
Beach volleyball’s 17th win marks a school record (April 8)
By Desmond Ordonez
On Friday, April 8, Boise State beach volleyball got two victories as they beat Sacramento State 5-0 and Santa Clara 4-1.
The wins stretched Boise State’s winning streak to seven while pushing their season total to 17, which is a program record.
Three Boise State duos of sophomores Rorianna Chartier and Sierra Land, senior Danielle Boss and freshman Madison Nichols and senior Joey Benson and freshman Emilia Guerra-Acuna, swept their matches on the day to lead the team.
The Broncos started the afternoon leading the Hornets as they forfeited at the No. 5 pair. Boise State would then follow up, winning four matches.
On court one, seniors Erin Martin and Yasmin Tan won in two sets over the hosting team’s top duo of Cailtlin Volkmann and Bridgett Smith, 21-18, 21-14. Boss and Nichols, along with Benson and Guerra-Acuna, won in back-to-back sets. Boss and Nichols captured No. 3 pair 21-16, 22-20, while Benson and Guerra-Acuna notched a nail-biting victory, 21-18, 24-22, on court four.
The Bronco tandem of Chartier and Land were pushed to a three-set match before they bounced the Hornet’s Kalani Hayes and Macey Hayden 21-18, 15-21, 15-8 at position No. 2.
The second battle of the day was against heavily talented Santa Clara. The two teams have split the earlier meetings this season.
Boise State won all four of its victories in back-to-back sets. Chartier and Land bounced Casey Campbell and Julia Sangiacomo, 21-14, 21-12, at No. 2 pair to move to 14 wins this year.
Boss and Nichols beat their opponents at pair No.3, 21-11, 21-14, while Benson and Guerra-Acuna won 21-15, 21-10 on court four. Both moved to a team-leading 16 victories to date.
Men’s tennis takes down Air Force (April 8)
By Mason Becker
After a rocky start, the Broncos rallied to defeat the Air Force Falcons 4-1 on Friday, April 8. This was a big win for the Broncos as they moved to 13-7 on the season and 2-1 in Mountain West Conference play.
Boise State fell a point early in the match as Air Force took the doubles point, but the Broncos did not waver, as they went on to win the next four singles matches, all in straight sets.
Photo by Claire Keener | The Arbiter
Senior Simon Arca Costas took his match easily, 6-0, 6-2, securing the first point for the Broncos in the match and grabbing his 71st career victory.
Junior Ryo Minakata followed with a straight-set victory, 6-3, 6-0, moving the Broncos to 2-1 in the match.
Freshman Pedro Liborio played a fantastic match, taking down Air Force’s number one player in straight sets, 6-1, 6-4, to put the Broncos only one point away from victory.
Freshman James Van Herzeele finished the match for the Broncos with another strong, straight-set victory to make the final score 4-1.
Track and field finish with 11 top-three runners at Brutus Hamilton Invitational (April 8)
By Ryan Marshall
Boise State track and field had 11 runners place in the top three at the Brutus Hamilton Invitational on April 9.
The Broncos had a pair of athletes win their events. These athletes included sophomore Connor Bjornson and senior Jose Rubio. Bjornson won in the javelin with a score of 55.63 meters, while Rubio secured first in his 400-meter hurdle competition by running in 53.12 seconds.
The women’s team also secured victories in their events. The two athletes that did so for the Broncos were freshman Maggie Larson as well as senior Kristie Schoffield.
Larson had her best jump of her career at 12.64 meters to get her first-place score and her top rank in the conference. Schoffield ran her 800-meter event in just 2:05.16 which gives her just her second ever win in an event.
As a team, the Broncos accomplished five wins in various events. They also won three bronze and silver medals to add to the weekend.
Boise State will be in action next as they travel back to California for different meets which include Bryan Clay Invitational (April 13-16), Mt. Sac Relays (April 13-16) and the Long Beach Invite (April 15-16).
Beach volleyball earns new program win record (April 9)
By Nate Lunak
Four athletes went undefeated on Saturday, April 9 to bring Boise State the win against Sacramento State University 4-1 before falling to San Jose State 3-2. This would end the eight-game win streak for Boise but bring the season total to 18 wins.
Senior Danielle Boss and freshman Madison Nichols won their matches Saturday to bring their wins streak to nine in a row improving to 18-9. These wins set a new school record for a pair during a season. Sophomore Rorianna Chartier and sophomore Sierra land now have a six-match win streak bringing them to 16-11 in total.
Against Sacramento, Boise started 1-0 when the Hornets forfeited the No. 5 pair for the day.
Sophomore Kaylee Mejia and freshman Sharli O’Neill took Boise State to a 2-0 lead, recording their 12th win this year.
With a win at court three, Sacramento narrowed the lead to 2-1, but Boss and Nichols ended the comeback hopes with a win to clinch the victory up 3-1. Chartier and Land ended the match with a win that brought the score to 4-1.
In the second match against San Jose, the Broncos lost after having a 2-0 lead as the Spartans came back to bring the match in their favor 3-2.
Chartier and Land won the first match, with Boss and Nichols following with the same results before the Spartans won three in a row to take the win away.
The Broncos are now 18-9 on the season with their next match ending the regular season at the Utah Beach Classic on April 22-23 in Salt Lake City.
Women’s tennis takes third straight victory (April 9)
By Mason Becker
Boise State women’s tennis took down the Lobos from the University of New Mexico on Saturday, April 9, by a score of 4-1. With this victory, the Broncos moved to 7-3 overall and 3-2 in the Mountain West Conference.
The Broncos started off hot, winning the doubles point in two games. Junior Holly Stewart and sophomore Shauna Heffernan took the first game 6-3. Sophomore Pauline Ernstberger and junior Ana Conde Vendrell followed with a victory of their own, 6-4, to secure the doubles point for the Broncos.
Sophomore Nicole Discenza secured her 14th win of the season and the first singles point for the Broncos in straight sets, 6-3, 6-1.
The Lobos got a point back from a singles victory, but the Broncos quickly bounced back with Heffernan winning in three sets, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3.
Stewart then clinched a victory for the Broncos, grueling out a three-set win, 2-6, 7-5, 6-1.
The Broncos have no time to rest, as they face off against Air Force on Sunday morning, April 10.
Women’s tennis falls to Air Force 4-2 (April 10)
By Matthew Valento
Women’s tennis wrapped up their visit to Logan, Utah, with a loss 4-2 against Air Force on April 10.
Junior Holly Stewart led the Broncos against the Falcons, catching victories at No. 3 singles and No. 2 doubles, but Boise State’s three-match winning streak came to an end.
The Broncos now have an overall record of 7-4 and a record of 3-3 in Mountain West conference play.
Air Force took the initial lead in the doubles competition with a win at the No.1 position, but Boise State fought back with wins on courts two and three. Sophomore Pauline Ernstberger and junior Ana Conde Vendrell drew doubles even at a score of one apiece with a 6-4 win at No. 3 doubles. Sophomore Shauna Heffernan and Stewart then clinched the team point for the Broncos with a 7-5 win on court two.
Tied at 1-1, Stewart put Boise State back on top when she won her No.3 singles match. She defeated Alexis Odom in a set-one tiebreaker, then took the second set to win the contest 7-6, 7-5, 6-0. This was Stewart’s 19th singles victory of the season, which is a team high.
However, the Falcons came back to finish the match with three straight wins on courts, two, one and five to close out the 4-2 win over the Broncos.
Boise State will now travel to Laramie, Wyoming, where they will square off against the Colorado State Rams and Wyoming Cowgirls on April 15-16 in conference play.
Men’s tennis defeated by New Mexico (April 10)
By Matthew Valento
Men’s tennis traveled up to Albuquerque, New Mexico, on Sunday afternoon to take on the New Mexico Lobos, where the Broncos would fall 4-0 in their Mountain West Conference match. The Lobos won the doubles point and three-straight singles match to take the win.
New Mexico took an early lead 2-0 with the team doubles point. Senior Simon Arca Costas and sophomore Caden Moortgat led the team in doubles leading their contest 5-4 when the match was stopped due to the Lobos securing the team win.
There were fair shares of close matches as three matches went to third sets in singles with junior Jan Lucca Marquardt being defeated in three in a back and forth contest 2-6, 6-3, 6-4.
Moortgat and junior Ryo Minakata won their first sets and were in the midst of the third set when it was stopped once New Mexico was given the team victory.
The Lobos won singles contests on courts two, six and three, to seal the victory over the Broncos.
Boise State will now shift its focus to Utah State on Saturday, April 16, their only contest of the week.
