Boise State Track Team Closes Out Regular Season

The Boise State track team gets its final chance to improve this weekend at the Idaho-Utah Border Clash.  The Bronco men are currently seeded third in the WAC while the women are last.


Junior Sasa Kampic won the javelin with a throw of 124-5 today while Racquel Jones took the long jump title with a mark of 19-9.  For the Bronco men, Alex Cartwright won the javelin (209-3) while Alex Nelson was tops in the hammer with a career-best of 211-10.  Trevor Kraychir finished second to Nelson with a throw of 196-7--those two are ranked 1-2 in the WAC.  Eetu Viitala won the long jump, posting a leap of 23-11.75.  Rolando Trammel set a career outdoor best of 23-6.25, good for second in the WAC to Viitala.


Those are the only Broncos to post marks anywhere near the top of the WAC.  Action concludes tomorrow with events getting started at 9:30 Saturday morning at Bronco Stadium.

Hawai'i Beats New Mexico State 3-2 in 10

Important series going on in Hawai'i between first-place New Mexico State and the Rainbow Wahine.  Boise State swept Hawai'i last week.  Boise State and Fresno State are currently tied for second, two games behind New Mexico State.  Stephanie Ricketts of Hawai'i went 5 1/3 innings before allowing a hit.  Hawai'i lost a 1-0 lead but was able to win 3-2 in 10 innings.


New Mexico State continues to lead the WAC, one game up on both Fresno State and Boise State.

Let's Get Some Comments Going!

I can talk for hours about all things Boise State.  Feel free to make your own posts and comments--I want to hear them and I'm sure others do too!

WAC Men's Golf Championship Begins Monday

The few remaining sports in the school year are finishing fast.  The men's and women's tennis championships will be decided this weekend in Boise, and the men's golf title is up for grabs beginning tomorrow.  After that, it's only men's and women's track, softball and baseball.


Boise State heads into its final WAC Championship seeded last.  The Bronco men can really help their school in the WAC Commissioner's Cup race by avoiding last place.  A finish of fourth or higher would just about clinch the Cup for the Broncos.  

Up-To-the-Minute WAC Commissioner's Cup Standings

With the women's tennis championship to be decided tomorrow and the men's tennis championship semifinals taking place tomorrow, here are the current WAC Commissioner's Cup Standings.  Note:  The first numbers listed for each school include the point totals for the regular season and for those teams who have been eliminated so far--they do not include points for the teams still alive in men's and women's play.  The points in parenthesis represent the low and high point totals each school can receive pending play this weekend.  (Remember that based on current projections, 90.25 points will win the Cup.)


I will have updated Cup Projections following the tennis championships.


1.  Boise State 74.25 + (1.75-3.00 for men's team) and (4.00-4.50 for women's team) = 80.00-81.75
2.  Utah State 63.50
3.  Fresno State 54.00 + (1.75-3.00 for men's team) and (4.00-4.50 for women's team) = 59.75-61.50
4.  New Mexico State 56.75 + (1.75-3.00 for men's team) = 58.50-59.75
5.  Idaho 50.00 + (1.75-3.00 for men's team) = 51.75-53.00
6.  Nevada 49.75 
7.  Hawai'i 43.00
8.  San Jose State 39.75
9.  Louisiana Tech  35.50 

WAC Men's Tennis Tournament

#3 Idaho blanked #6 Utah State 4-0, just about eliminating the Aggies from taking the WAC Commissioner's Cup.  Idaho will meet #2 New Mexico State Saturday at 1 p.m. at the Appleton Center in the semi's.


#1 Fresno State is awaiting the winner of the Boise State-Hawai'i match in the other semi, which is scheduled for Saturday at 4 p.m. at Appleton.

Boise State Tennis Team Able to Defeat Hawai'i 4-0

So far, so good for Boise State in their opening round match against Hawai'i in the WAC tennis tournament.  The Broncos had a very tough weekend to close out the regular season.  Damian Hume had some trouble with his unranked opponent and wasn't able to register a decision tonight, leaving it up to his teammates.  Don't worry Damian--they came through for you!


Boise State will play favored and regular season champion Fresno State tomorrow at 4 at the Appleton Center in the semifinals.


  Boise State 4, Hawaii 0
Apr 29, 2011 at Boise, Idaho (Boas Indoor Tennis Center)

Singles competition

1. Damian Hume (BSU) vs. Dennis Lajola (UH) 6-0, 2-6, 1-1, unfinished

2. Andrew Bettles (BSU) def. Leo Rosenberg (UH) 6-2, 6-3

3. Scott Sears (BSU) def. Jeremy Tweedt (UH) 6-3, 7-5

4. Filipp Pogostkin (BSU) def. Jonathan Brooklyn (UH) 6-4, 6-0

5. Nathan Sereke (BSU) vs. Dmytro Kovalyov (UH) 2-0, unfinished

6. Jeff Mullen (BSU) vs. Daniel Llarenas (UH) 1-0, unfinished

Doubles competition

1. Damian Hume/Scott Sears (BSU) vs. Jonathan Brooklyn/Dennis Lajola (UH) 6-4, unfinished

2. Jeff Mullen/Nathan Sereke (BSU) def. Leo Rosenberg/Jeremy Tweedt (UH) 8-3

3. Andrew Bettles/Filipp Pogostkin (BSU) def. Danilo Casanova/Daniel Llarenas (UH) 8-2

Match Notes

Order of finish: Doubles (2,3); Singles (2,4,3)

Pettis Selected by St. Louis in the 3rd Round

Boise State standout wide receiver Austin Pettis joined fellow wideout Titus Young as a high NFL draft pick, as the St. Louis Rams selected Pettis in the third round, the 78th player chosen.


Pettis and Young teamed to form the top receiving duo in the nation and the best 1-2 punch in Boise State history.  They were part of a senior class that broke the modern NCAA record for wins in a three-year period previously held by USC, going 38-2.  Only Pennsylvania (43-1 from 1895-1897), Yale (42-1-2 from 1894-1896), Yale (41-2 from 1888-1890) and Pennsylvania (39-4 from 1892-1894) have had more wins in three years than Boise State.  Led by Pettis and Young, Boise State produced the best four-year record in school history (48-5). 






Pettis was the “go-to” guy when Boise State needed a first down, and became famous for clutch catches and jump balls where he would sail high above his defender for a miraculous catch.  Pettis obliterated the Bronco record books with his outstanding four-year achievements. 

Austin was one of five true freshman to play in 2007.  He finished second on the team with 46 catches (for 465 yards) and second with six touchdown receptions.  Pettis had nine receptions for 89 yards against East Carolina in the Hawai’i Bowl and eight in back-to-back games against Utah State and Idaho .  He recorded his first 100-yard receiving game with 139 yards and three TD’s against Idaho.

Pettis earned second-team All-WAC honors in 2008 with 49 catches for 567 yards and 9 touchdowns.  Austin grabbed nine passes for 120 yards and two touchdowns against Nevada .  He was named to the All-WAC academic team.

Last season, Pettis was All-WAC with 63 catches (9^th all-time) in 12 games.  He broke the school record with 14 receiving touchdowns and tied another mark with four TD catches against Idaho .  Austin also broke the record for consecutive games with a TD catch by hauling in one per game in the first 10 games.  Austin had six catches against Top 10 Oregon and burned Miami of Ohio for 115 yards on four catches.  He had 10 receptions for 129 yards and two touchdowns vs. UC-Davis and nine catches for 105 yards and a score vs. Louisiana Tech. 

Pettis continued his steady play in 2010.  He earned All-WAC honors with 71 catches for 951 yards and 10 touchdowns. Austin broke Don Hutt’s (1970-1973) 37 year-old record of 189 career receptions earlier this year and also topped Ryan Ikebe's mark for career receiving yards. In his career, Pettis had 229 receptions for 2,838 yards and 39 touchdowns. 

Congrats AP and good luck in the NFL!

Damian Hume All-WAC, Andy Bettles Tabbed Freshman of the Year

Even though they finished fourth in the WAC, Boise State was well represented on the All-Conference team announced by the league office.

Damian Hume was honored on the first team and Andy Bettles earned Freshman of the Year for Coach Greg Patton's Broncos.  Hume and Scott Sears were among the doubles teams on the All-WAC team as well.  Jeff Mullen and Nate Sereke were on the second-team.



First Team All-WAC Singles
Remi Boutillier, Fresno State
Marius Cirstea, Idaho
Rikus de Villiers, Fresno State
Damian Hume, Boise State
Dennis Lajola, Hawai'i
Lachlan Reed, Idaho

First Team All-WAC Doubles
Rikus de Villiers/Remi Boutillier, Fresno State
Damian Hume/Scott Sears, Boise State
Dennis Lajola/Jon Brooklyn, Hawai'i
Second Team All-WAC Singles
Jakob Asplund, Utah State
Jim Brouleau, New Mexico State
Wessim Derbel, Nevada
Leo Rosenberg, Hawai'i
Orlando Superlano, New Mexico State
Arthur Surreaux, New Mexico State

Second Team All-WAC Doubles
Jim Brouleau/Matej Stakne, New Mexico State
Bryan Marchant/Sven Poslusny, Utah State
Jeff Mullen/Nathan Sereke, Boise State
WAC Player of the Year: Dennis Lajola, Hawai'i
WAC Freshman of the Year: Andy Bettles, Boise State
WAC Coach of the Year: Jay Udwadia, Fresno State

Boise State's Titus Young to Detroit

Young has been chosen by Detroit as the 12th pick of the second round.  One of the receivers that Detroit has is former Nevada wideout Nate Burleson, who has nine years in the NFL.  Draft experts believe Young may be a slot receiver to begin with; I think he could be groomed to take Burleson's place when he's done.  I also think Young could get some work in on the return teams to utilize his speed.


Young will also be on the same team as former Bronco great Ian Johnson, who should be starting but the Lions haven't seen the light yet.




Growth.  What growth.  Lest any potential recruit wonder about what Coach Chris Petersen and the Bronco coaching staff can do to help a young man, they need only look at the quality man that Titus Young has become.  He has matured by leaps and bounds, both personally and talent-wise.  This speed merchant will go down as one of the greatest receivers ever to play for the Broncos.  He had raw talent and speed when he came to Boise; he leaves as a complete receiver who runs great routes, shows incredible hustle (no one will ever forget his fumble recovery in the end zone against Fresno State after he trailed the play all the way downfield), has amazing hands and makes acrobatic catches. 

In 2007, Young caught a pass in all 13 games.  He finished third on the team with 44 receptions for 639 yards and five touchdowns.  He also rushed for 66 yards and two touchdowns.  Young had two rushing touchdowns and one receiving vs. Utah State and was on the receiving end of seven passes against East Carolina .  He also had six catches against San Jose State . 
In 2008, Young played in three games, getting 10 receptions for 168 yards and a TD and rushing five times for 52 yard and two touchdowns.

Titus earned All-WAC both as wide receiver and kick return specialist last season.  He became the first player in school history to bring two kickoffs back for touchdowns in a season and in a career.  He returned the opening kickoff 95 yards against Nevada and “officially” returned one 100 yards against Idaho , even though we all know it was more like 108.  Young had 79 receptions (2^nd in school history) for 1,041 yards (#6 all-time) and 10 touchdowns (7^th all-time), becoming just the eighth Bronco to surpass the 1,000-yard mark.  Titus was second in the WAC with 143.7 all-purpose yards per game, second in kickoff returns (26.9), third in receiving yards (74.4 per game) and seventh in scoring).  Young also rushed 15 times for 151 yards and three touchdowns.  Young’s 2,012 all-purpose yards was second only to Brock Forsey’s 2,127 in 2002.  He helped to stretch TCU’s secondary with eight catches for 72 yards despite the Horned Frog defense converging on him due to the injury of Austin Pettis.  Young had two touchdowns (one on the fumble recovery, one receiving) and had 174 all-purpose yards against Fresno State .  He scored two touchdowns at Bowling Green and caught six passes for 83 yards and a TD vs. UC-Davis.  TY had eight receptions for 115 yards and three TD’s against Hawai’i and eight catches for 110 yards and a score vs. Louisiana Tech.  He also went over the 100-yard mark against Idaho and Utah State . 



Young led Boise State with 71 receptions this season (#13 all-time) for 1,215 yards (third in the record books) and nine touchdowns (9^th all-time).  Young shattered Ryan Ikebe’s (1993-1996) record of 2,751 career receiving yards earlier this season and became Boise State’s first 3,000-yard man!  TY passed Don Hutt against Nevada and is second all-time to teammate Austin Pettis for career receptions.  Titus has 1,684 yards of all-purpose offense this year already (8^th all-time).  He has nine carries for 45 yards and a touchdown and 20 kickoff returns for 512 yards.  He had six receptions for 80 yards in the season opening win over Virginia Tech, five catches for 136 yards and a TD against Oregon State, seven receptions for 105 yards and a score against San Jose State, six catches for 129 yards and a TD against Nevada and four catches for 94 yards and a touchdown against Wyoming. 

In Young’s spectacular career, he had 204 receptions for 3,063 yards (15.0 avg.) and 25 TD’s (4^th all-time), 47 rushes for 350 yards and eight touchdowns, and 56 kickoff returns for 1,449 yards (25.9 avg.) and two scores.  Young had 5,502 yards of all-purpose yards, good for second in Boise State history


Way to go, Titus!

#31 Boise State Squeaks By #24 Fresno State 4-3

In a huge weekend series, Boise State has just defeated #24 Fresno State 4-3.  Homers by Devon Bridges and Allie Crump aided the Bronco cause and star pitcher Aubray Zell pitched a complete game, scattering eight hits for the victory.  Zell struck out nine in the seven innings, consistently foiling Fresno State rallies with superb pitching.

Here's how it happened:

Two Fresno errors have turned singles by Kellie Caplan and Holly Bourke into runs.  The game is now tied at 3 in the third.

Allie Crump's homer in the 4th has given Boise State a 4-3 lead for now.  Boise State loaded the bases in the bottom of the sixth with one out and did not score.  We'll just keep our fingers crossed that it doesn't come back to bite them.

Leadoff single for Fresno State in the 7th.  Two grounders for the Bulldogs, they've been able to stay out of the double play and thus have a runner in scoring position at second.

The two teams play a doubleheader tomorrow at Mountain Cove Field in Boise with games at 1 and 3 p.m.

Boise State Women Advance to Final

After about a 1 1/1 hour delay due to the unexpected length of the Fresno State-Nevada match, Boise State finally took to the court.  The Broncos grabbed the doubles point from New Mexico State and didn't look back. 

Boise State will play Fresno State for the WAC title tomorrow morning at 10 at the Appleton Tennis Center.

Singles competition

1. Lauren Megale (BSU) vs. Isabela Kulaif (NMSU) 6-2, 4-1, unfinished

2. Sonia Klamczynska (BSU) def. Manon Sylvain (NMSU) 6-1, 6-1

3. Stephanie Jasper (BSU) vs. Ginet Pinero (NMSU) 7-5, 3-3, unfinished

4. Elyse Edwards (BSU) def. Natalia Salum (NMSU) 6-4, 6-4

5. Marlena Pietzuch (BSU) def. Annemieke Witte (NMSU) 6-1, 6-1

6. Morgan Basil (BSU) vs. Ros-Polly Nguyen (NMSU) 7-5, 4-0, unfinished

Doubles competition

1. Lauren Megale/Marlena Pietzuch (BSU) def. Manon Sylvain/Jodie Williams (NMSU) 8-4

2. Elyse Edwards/Sonia Klamczynska (BSU) def. Isabela Kulaif/Ginet Pinero (NMSU) 8-2

3. Stephanie Jasper/Sandy Vo (BSU) vs. Natalia Salum/Ros-Polly Nguyen (NMSU) 7-5, unfinished

WAC Tournament Matches Delayed

Because of the length of the Fresno State-Nevada match, the remainder of today's schedule is going to be much later than first thought.  Boise State's women's match should be going any minute now, 1 1/2 hours later than scheduled.  The Boise State men's match may not start until 7:30, rather than 6 as scheduled.  It's a nice, sunny day but as of this morning, they were planning on playing at the BOAS Center.

WAC Women's Tennis Tournament Results

Fresno State has taken the doubles point from Nevada and was expected to cruise to the final.  Instead, Nevada tied them at 3 and the Bulldogs had to come from behind at #6 singles to win the match.


Because of the length of the match, the Boise State match was delayed from its noon start.  It is finally underway, 40 minutes late.

WAC Tennis Tournament Times Changed

The weather is much better today than yesterday, but as a precaution, matches have been moved to the BOAS Center.  There are new times for the matches as outlined below.

Women's Semifinals
#2 Fresno State vs. #3 Nevada - 9 a.m. (BOAS)
#1 Boise State vs. #5 New Mexico State - was originally supposed to start at noon but is 11/2 hours late because of the length of the Fresno State-Nevada match. (BOAS)

Men's Quarterfinals
The long match between Fresno State & Nevada has delayed all the matches today.  The scheduled times are below but I estimate the Idaho match may not get underway until 4 or 4:30, with the Boise State match now looking like about 7:30 or so.

#3 Idaho vs. #6 Utah State - 3 p.m. (BOAS)
#4 Boise State vs. #5 Hawai'i - 6 p.m. (BOAS)