New Mexico Upsets San Diego State 4-2

Top seed San Diego State lost the doubles point, then lost the match 4-2 to upstart New Mexico in the MWC Men's Tennis semifinal.  It's always scary to play a hot team, and New Mexico is definitely that.  

Boise State and New Mexico will meet tomorrow for the honor of being the Mountain West Conference representative in the NCAA Tennis Tournament.  The match is scheduled for 2 p.m. Mountain Time tomorrow in Colorado Springs.

Boise State Blanks UNLV 4-0 in MWC Semi

Dominating performances such as this are supposed to take place in the regular season in a first place vs. last-place match.  Boise State won the doubles point, then all six Bronco singles players won their opening set.

Nathan Sereke won his match at #2 singles 6-1, 6-3, then Thomas Tenreiro put away UNLV's Charlie Alvarado 6-3, 6-2.  Filipp Pogostkin has just won his match at #4 singles, 6-3, 6-3 to give Boise State a surprisingly easy 4-0 win in the Mountain West Conference Men's Tennis semifinal against the Rebels.  At the time of the clinching victory, all remaining three Bronco players led in their individual matches as well.

Boise State advances to tomorrow's final against the winner of the New Mexico-San Diego State match.  New Mexico won the doubles point and the upstart Lobos are tied with the top seed 2-2 and in fact have the advantage in singles play as of the moment.

Tenreiro Wins 17th Straight Match

Thomas Tenreiro has been rock solid for Boise State at the #5 singles player, which bodes well for the Broncos' postseason hopes.  Usually in NCAA tennis, the #4, 5 and 6 players decide the match.

Today, Thomas won his 17th straight singles match, 6-3, 6-2 to put Boise State up 3-0 in their MWC semifinal match against UNLV.  Boise State won the doubles point and Nathan Sereke won his match at #2 singles, 6-1, 6-3.

Filipp Pogostkin has earned a break in his second set at #4 singles and lead 4-3 after winning the opening set 6-3.

However, Andy Bettles lost a break in his second set and trails 4-3 after winning his first set 7-5.

Sears Wins Tiebreaker

Scott Sears won a tiebreaker to take his opening set at #3 singles, 7-6.  Amazingly, all six Broncos won their opening sets of a conference semifinal match.

Sereke Wins Second Set 6-3

Nathan is the first Bronco to finish and will play the role of cheerleader for the rest of the match.  Sereke won his match at #2 singles, 6-1, 6-3 to put Boise State up on UNLV 2-0 in their MWC semifinal match.

Scott Sears of Boise State and Tamas Batyi are locked in a first set tiebreaker, the only two competitors yet to finish their first set.

Thomas Tenreiro leads his second set 5-2, trying to win his match at #5 singles.  Johannes Markel of UNLV and Boise State's Garrett Patton have split their first two sets.

Patton Loses Second Set

Well, Garrett Patton did lose the second set, 6-2, after winning every game of the first set 6-0.  He moves to the third set against Johannes Markel of UNLV.

Bettles Wins 7-5

Andy Bettles added a little insurance with a 7-5 win in the first set of his match at #1 singles against Ace Matias.  Five Broncos have now won opening sets, though Garrett Patton is down 5-2 in the second set of the match in which he won the first set.

Patton Loses Break in Second Set

We hope this isn't reminiscent of the women's match yesterday, in which Manuella Pietzuch won her opening set 6-0 only to lose the second set.  However, Garrett Patton of Boise State, who breezed to a 6-0 win in his first set today, just lost a serve and is down 5-2 in the second set.

Boise State Wins Again 5-2

Boise State topped Colorado State 5-2 behind Kenzie Cole's first career save.  With the first two games complete in the series, the Lady Broncos try to get the sweep that they desperately need to get back in the MWC race.  Boise State is currently tied with UNLV for fifth in the conference and is 3.5 games behind first-place San Diego State.  There is no postseason tournament, so the regular season dictates which team advances to the NCAA's.

Tenreiro Wins Opening Set

Make it four for four.  Thomas Tenreiro has won his opening set 6-3, becoming the fourth Bronco to do so.  Three have to win their singles matches for Boise State to advance to tomorrow's final.  Five lead right now with only Scott Sears behind 5-4.

Pogostkin Wins Opening Set

Filipp Pogostkin is the third Bronco to win his opening set, as he beat Bernard Schoeman 6-3. Garrett Patton at #6 singles and Nathan Sereke at #2 singles have also won today.

Sears Suffers a Break

Scott Sears has lost serve and now trail Tamas Batyi 5-4 at #3 singles.  Batyi is the first Rebel to record a break in the opening set of singles play.  Boise State leads the match 1-0 with their doubles victory.

Lady Broncos Continue To Lead CSU 5-2

Boise State batting in the bottom of the sixth.

A win would put the Lady Broncos within one game of Colorado State, but San Diego State at 8-3 is the new conference leader.  Boise State got off to a rugged start in Mountain West play and is now 4-6, but can move into a tie for fifth in the conference with a win today.

Sereke Wins First Set 6-1

Two Broncos have now won the opening set as Nathan Sereke joins Garrett Patton.  Andy Bettles lost serve early at #1 singles but just earned his own break and leads 4-3.  No other breaks at this time.

Patton First to Finish First Set

Garrett Patton has the first set in the books in Colorado Springs.  Patton beat Johannes Markel of UNLV 6-0 and will now try to win the match.

Bettles Gets Break at #1 Singles

Andy Bettles, Boise State's most celebrated singles player in several years, has gotten a service break and leads Ace Matias of UNLV 3-2.  Bettles lost an early serve so the match is now even.  Boise State has two breaks at the MWC Men's Tennis Championships.  Nathan Sereke now leads 5-0 at #2 singles and Garrett Patton lead 3-0 at #6 singles.

Two Early Breaks in Singles Play for Boise State

Nathan Sereke at 32 singles and Garrett Patton at #6 singles have both earned breaks early in their matches with UNLV.  Both lead 3-0 in the first set with Boise State leading the match 1-0.

Boise State Gets Doubles Point

Toby Mitchell and Aidan Reid held on to beat Carlos Di Laura and Gilad Berman of UNLV 8-5 at #3 doubles, securing the doubles point for Boise State.  Action moves to singles.

Bettles and Sereke First To Finish

Andy and Nathan have won at #1 doubles, 8-5 at the MWC Men's Tennis Championships in Colorado Springs.  

Garrett Patton and Scott Sears gave up a late break at #2 doubles and lost 8-5 to UNLV's Tamas Batyi and Johannes Markel.  Awaiting the result at #3 doubles, which Boise State leads.

New Mexico stole the doubles point from top seed San Diego State and leads 1-0 in the other conference semifinal.

Breaks Go Boise State's Way Early

The #1 doubles team of Bettles and Sereke has gotten a break and leads Bernard Schoeman and Ace Matias of UNLV 7-5 at the MWC Men's Tennis Championships in Colorado Springs.  Mitchell and Reid at #3 doubles also have a break and lead 7-4.  No breaks at #2 doubles yet.

Blue Through and Through is once again the first in Idaho to report this information (Thank-you, thank-you!)

Two Errors Aid Broncs

Boise State has plated four more runs and leads first-place Colorado State 5-0.  The Broncos have the bases loaded with two outs.

Hayley Young Takes Her Place As One of the Top Women's Golfers Ever at Boise State

Bronco senior Hayley Young concluded her great Boise State career with a seventh-place finish to lead her team to second place at the Mountain West women's golf championships.  Young was 11 over for the weekend.

With her finish this weekend, Young tied the school record set by Marie Beasley (1999-2003) for the most career Top 10 finishes with 11 and extended her own mark with her 20th career Top 25 finish.  Young also tied Acey Erlandson (1999-2000) for the school record with her fifth Top 10 finish of the year and tied Daniella Wall-Thompson (1994-95) for the school record with her eighth Top 25 finish of the year. 

Young's scoring average of 75.19 also broke a school mark that Young set her sophomore year.  Young finishes her time at Boise State with three of the top five single-season scoring averages in school history.

Congratulations on a super career, Hayley.  Thanks for the memories, and we will miss you!

Matt Post Wins Hammer By Nearly 35 Feet

Matt Post dominated the competition today in the hammer.  Post threw 209-04, nearly 35 feet better than the next best thrower.

Kreiger Homer Leads Boise State To Win

With one pitch, Jordan Kreiger has put her team on the board against first-place Colorado State.  The Lady Broncos lead CSU at Dona Larsen, 1-0 in the third.

Still No Breaks in Boise State-UNLV Match

No breaks to report, with the duo of Andrew Bettles and Nathan Sereke leading 3-2 At #1 doubles and Garrett Patton and Scott Sears down 4-3 at #2 doubles.  Toby Mitchell and Aidan Reid lead 3-2 in #3 doubles.  Boise State taking on UNLV in the semifinal of the Mountain West Conference Men's Tennis Championships.

Lady Broncos Finish Second in Mountain West Championships

Hats off to a spectacular performance at the Mountain West Women's Golf Championships for the Boise State Lady Broncos at Rancho Mirage, California.  Boise State was in second after each round and finished that way today.

In placing second, Boise State recorded the second-best conference finish in school history, beaten only by the Broncos' conference title in 1994, and beat two teams ranked in the nation's Top 100.  Boise State's final three-round score of 916 (310, 304, 302) tied a school record for the best performance at a conference championship, matching the mark set at the 2009 Western Athletic Conference event.  Boise State's final round of 302 tied the school record for the best single round, set in 2011.

"I have never been more proud of a team," head coach Nicole Bird said. "This entire season was amazing - we tied or broke nearly every school record in the book this year, and continued to get better throughout the season.

#43 UNLV surged into the lead yesterday and didn't let up, shooting a +12 today.  The Rebels won the tournament by 12 strokes over Boise State, which finished +52 for the weekend.

Fresno State finished 16 over-par today and +54 for the tournament.  Nevada snuck in for fourth with +58, while #55 San Diego State had to settle for fifth (+62).  New Mexico (+18, +85) was sixth, followed by Colorado State (+28, +86) and Wyoming (+33, +105).

Hayley Young finished 11 over for the tournament, tied for 7th individually, and was named second-team All-Mountain West.  Freshman Samantha Martin picked a great time to record her first career Top 10 finish, a tie for ninth, with a three-round score of 228.  Fellow freshman McKenzie Ford was 11th with a 229.  Senior Lori Harper and freshman Sammie Pless tied for 24th with three-round totals of 238.

Men's Tennis Finally Underway

Don't know the reason for the delay in Colorado Springs but Boise State and UNLV now finally playing their match that was supposed to start at 2.  No breaks yet--we will keep you updated.

Bronco Women Nearing Spectacular Finish

The Boise State women's golf team, down in the dumps for over a decade, is now three strokes ahead of Fresno State for second place at the 2013 Mountain West Conference Championships.  The Broncos have had an awesome weekend, and have been in second place for nearly the entire tournament.  

They won't catch #43 UNLV, which is 13 strokes ahead, but they have a chance to record the second-best conference finish in school history if they can hold on.  Boise State has only won one conference title, and that was back in 1994.  Their next-best finish was third place in 2001-2002.

Boise State Gets More Wins at Idaho-Utah Border Clash

The women's 4 x 100-meter relay team won in easy fashion, as frankly every Boise State team should do at this meet.  The team of Destiny Gammage, Mackenzie Flannigan, Taryn Campos and Heather Pilcher crossed first in 45.49, breaking their own school record of 45.67 set a week ago.  The men's relay team of Bret Scheve, Daveon Collins, Justin Malnes and Jordin Andrade won in 40.90.

In the women's 4 x 400, the Bronco team of Megan Kelley, Campos, Yvonne Bennett and Flannigan won by 11 seconds (3:45.63).

Malnes won the 110-meter hurdles in 14.38.  Emily Funkhouser won the women's 400-meter hurdles with a time of 1:01.93 while Andrade took the men's in 51.73.   

Taryn Campos won the women's 200 with a time of 23.85, the second-fastest time in school history.

Nick Lobb won the steeplechase in 9:33.93.

Osai Wins Hammer

Alyssa Osai, who broke the school mark in the discus yesterday, turned around and won the women's hammer throw today, with a heave of 176-4.

Osai Shatters School Record in Discus

Alyssa Osai of Boise State set a new school record in the discus to highlight action in the opening day of the Idaho-Utah Border Clash at Dona Larsen Park, the final home meet of the 2013 season.

Osai uncorked a throw of 159' 3", breaking the record that Gloria Dillard set in 1992 (158-6).  Osai bettered her career best by over 13 feet in setting the mark.

Lauran Lucas won the 1,500-meter in 4:37.03.  Austin Hamiltin won the javelin with a throw of 209-5 while Luke Schafer finished first in the pole vault with a vault of 14-5.25.

Day two is underway at Dona Larsen.

Down To Three-Team Race

And UNLV all but has it wrapped up.  The Rebels have three holes to go and have a 14-stroke lead on Boise State at the MWC Women's Golf Championships.  Fresno State is right behind Boise State with a +53 for the weekend, one stroke behind the Broncos.  Here are the teams that have finished:

#4 Nevada +58, shot a nice +9 today
#5 San Diego State +62
#6 New Mexico +85
#7 Colorado State +86
#8 Wyoming +105

Boise State and UNLV Underway in MWC Men's Tennis Semi

The two teams have taken to the court in Colorado Springs with the winner advancing to the Mountain West title match.

Boise State Nudges Into Second With Four Holes To Play

Not sure, but a second place might be the best conference finish for a Boise State women's golf team since 1996.  That was the last time Boise State captured a conference crown.

With just four holes left on the final day of the MWC Championships, the Lady Broncos have pulled two strokes ahead of Fresno State.  They are 12 over par for the day, but still 11 back of UNLV.  

Boise State Women's Golfers Still 3rd after 12 holes

Heading into the final eight holes of the weekend, Boise State is still in third place at the Mountain West Women's Golf Championships.  Boise State is 11 over, several strokes off the 304 pace they set yesterday when they pulled even with first-day leader Fresno State.

The Bulldog women are 10 over while the Nevada teams, UNLV (+6) and Nevada (+7) lead the way in the final round.  Nevada, in fact, has pulled within seven strokes of Boise State for third while UNLV leads Fresno by 13 and Boise State by 14.  #55 San Diego State has fallen 28 strokes off the pace and is +62 for the weekend.

Boise State 2 Over After Five Holes

So far Boise State with the second best score for the third consecutive round at the MWC Women's Golf Championships.  UNLV has cooled down to three over and has a nine-stroke lead on the Broncos and eight on Fresno State.

Bronco Women 2 Over In Early Going

Boise State is two-over-par after two holes in the final round of the Mountain West Conference Women's Golf Championships.  UNLV continues to pour it on, one under par this morning, and leads Fresno State by 11 and Boise State by 14.

Boise State #83 in Final Winter Standings of Learfield Cup

Thanks to a 25th-place finish in women's gymnastics, Boise State jumped from 89 to 83 in the Learfield Cup Standings.  Boise State was awarded 26.5 points for their gymnastics finish.  These are the final Standings for the winter sports, with only the spring sports remaining.  Earlier in the winter, the Broncos scored 55 points with a 19th-place finish at the 2013 NCAA Wrestling Championships.

While this is not Boise State's best year overall, the Broncos did get points in men's basketball for the first time in several years.  Boise State was awarded 5 points for their inclusion in the tournament; had they won that opening round game, they would have scored 25 so a big loss there.  And, Boise State is just behind Oregon State and Mississippi State in the Cup Standings, and ahead of schools such as Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Wake Forest, Georgia Tech and Cincinnati, schools supposedly "superior" to Boise State in overall athletic department success.

Boise State needs the men's tennis team to qualify for the NCAA Championships, probably the school's best chance to pick up points this spring.

Final Round of MWC Women's Golf

Senior Hayley Young

The final round of the MWC Women's Golf Championships is about to get underway.  UNLV golfed like everyone thought they would yesterday, as they came from behind to take a 10-stroke lead on Fresno State and Boise State.  The Rebels are 28 over par for the tournament with the Lady Bulldogs and Broncos at 38 over.  San Diego State is another 10 strokes back followed by Nevada who, like Boise State, is a surprise thus far.  Colorado State (+58), New Mexico (+67) and Wyoming (+72) round out the field.

Boise State should tee off approximately 10:30 Saturday morning in the final round.