Boise State Advances to Second Round with 4-0 win over Middle Tennessee

 

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The No. 25 Boise State Broncos advanced to the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament by virtue of a 4-0 win over the No. 57 Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders Friday at the University of Alabama Tennis Stadium. This marks the first time since 2006 that the Broncos have advanced past the First Round, and they now await the winner of the match between No. 14 Alabama and No. 59 Furman.

 

Boise State quickly jumped ahead in doubles action. On court three, Matt Solomon and Blane Shields cruised to an 8-1 victory over Alex McCann and Matthew Langley. The other two matches were tight the entire way, but the Broncos would come through to clinch with a win at the No. 2 position. Clancy Shields and Stanley Sarapanich took an early break lead, but Rob McKenzie and Morgan Richard fought back. However, the Boise State duo would break once again, this time holding on to that lead for an 8-6 win. The match on court one featured two ranked duos, as No. 43 Kean Feeder and James Meredith of Boise State battled No. 50 John Peers and Victor Melo into a tiebreak, but play was stopped before the tiebreak began.

 

 Boise State took a 2-0 lead thanks to Sarapanich, who defeated Langley 6-1, 6-0 on court five. Next off court with another win for the Broncos was Cristian Hodel, picking up a 6-1, 6-0 victory over Richard at the No. 4 spot. Boise State needed one more singles win to advance, as Blane and Clancy Shields both were closing in on delivering the clincher. Blane had the first chance, winning the first set 6-3 and holding a break lead for most of the second at the No. 6 position. However, Alex McCann would battle back to 5-5 in the second set. Meanwhile, No. 24 Clancy took a 5-2 lead his second set on court two after winning the first over No. 95 John Peers. Peers won the next game to make the score 5-3, which gave Blane enough time to earn another break and win his match 6-3, 7-5. The Broncos also had a lead on court one, as No. 72 Feeder took the opening set in a tiebreak, but trailed 1-2 in the second to No. 89 Robert McKenzie. Court three was the only court that saw a Blue Raider take the opening set, with Melo taking down No. 87 Meredith 6-2. The second set was at 4-4 when play was stopped.

 

The second round match on Saturday will begin at 2:00 p.m. (CST).

 

RESULTS

Doubles

1. No. 43 Feeder/Meredith (BSU) vs. No. 50 Peers/Melo (MTSU) 8-8, unf.

2. C. Shields/Sarapanich (BSU) def. McKenzie/Richard (MTSU) 8-6

3. Solomon/B. Shields (BSU) def. McCann/Wishing (MTSU) 8-1

Order of Finish: 3,2

 

Singles

1. No. 72 Kean Feeder (BSU) vs. No. 89 Robert McKenzie (MTSU) 7-6(3), 1-2

2. No. 24 Clancy Shields (BSU) vs. No. 95 John Peers (MTSU) 6-4, 5-3

3. No. 87 James Meredith (BSU) vs. Victor Melo (MTSU) 2-6, 4-4

4. Cristian Hodel (BSU) vs. Morgan Richard (MTSU) 6-3, 6-3

5. Stanley Sarapanich (BSU) def. Matthew Langley (MTSU) 6-1, 6-0

6. Blane Shields (BSU) vs. Alex McCann (MTSU) 6-3, 7-5

Order of Finish: 5,4,6*

 

Boise State Head Coach Greg Patton:

“It is big for us to advance. Middle Tennessee is great at the top. I think they can play with anyone at 1-3, and maybe even 4. But our 4, 5, and 6 have gotten better all season, and our guys are looking their best. This is the time of the season that really matters. Stanley (Sarapanich) had been struggling, but he played well today. We have won 23 matches this season, and in all of those matches we have won the doubles point. Tomorrow we have to come out and have everything in order. Furman is a solid team, and we know how good Alabama is as well. I really want to see this team advance to the Final 16. The seniors have been lights out for us, so I would really love to see them advance to College Station, Texas. We are so blessed to have these seniors. The team really means everything to them.”

 

Middle Tennessee State Head Coach David McNamera:

“I give Boise a lot of credit. Greg (Patton) is a great coach and he has coached that team very well. Their strengths are very similar to ours, so I felt we have some good matchups out there today. However, their weaknesses are just a little stronger than ours. They came out ready to play today. I felt we were a little unlucky in doubles, but Boise is just a tough team up and down the lineup in singles. They have won a lot of matches this season, and they showed why they are such a tough team.”