Sunday, 03/16/2014

BOISE, Idaho - Brendan McClain’s singles victory on court five secured No. 19 Boise State’s 4-3 win over No. 46 Virginia Tech Saturday night at the Appleton Tennis Center in Boise. The match was a tightly contested affair throughout as Boise State gain the early momentum claiming the doubles point. Then with the team score tied at one all, the Broncos rolled off three consecutive singles victories by Thomas Tenreiro, Nathan Sereke and McClain’s match clincher for the big win.

The win was the third straight for Boise State and the second of the day following a 7-0 victory over Idaho State earlier in the morning. The Broncos are now 13-3 overall following today’s sweep. Boise State is now 8-3 against nationally ranked competition.

The match opened with Boise State gaining 8-4 doubles wins on courts two and three. The duo of Toby Mitchell and Nathan Sereke put the Broncos up one with their win on court three over Amerigo Contini and Florian Nicoud. The team point was clinched on court two where Andy Bettles and Tenreiro defeated the Hokies’ Jai Corbett and Joao Monteiro.

The final doubles match went to Virginia Tech where Hunter Koontz and Andreas Bjerrehus rallied to defeated Boise State’s McClain and Garrett Patton in a tiebreak 8-7 (3).

Virginia Tech pulled even in the team battle when Monteiro defeated the Broncos’ Garrett Patton in straight sets 6-3, 6-3 at the fours.

Tenreiro gave the Blue and Orange its advantage back when he dispatched Bjerrehus 7-5, 6-1 on court three. Sereke put the Broncos within one team point of victory when he recorded a hard fought three-set victory on court two 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 over VTU’s Koontz.

That setup McClain’s decisive point on court five to clinch the contest for Boise State. The true freshman came through for the Broncos following a marathon match before putting away Aaron Gomez in three sets 7-6 (0), 3-6, 6-3. McClain is now a team-best 19-6 overall and 14-2 in duals.

With the team victory decided the Hokies closed from 4-1 down to within 4-3 at the end. The last two matches also went to three sets before being won by VTU. Boise State’s Brian Foley rallied from a set one tiebreaker loss to force a third set before falling 7-6 (5), 3-6, 6-3.

In the most competitive battle of the day between two nationally ranked singles opponents Virginia Tech’s 24th-ranked Amerigo Contini held off Boise State’s 60th-ranked Andy Bettles on court one. Bettles won the first set 6-3, then fell in the second 6-2. Down 5-1 in the third frame, Bettles rallied pulling even 5-5 before coming up short 7-5 down the stretch.

FINAL MATCH SUMMARY
No. 46 Virginia Tech (8-5) at No. 19 Boise State (13-3)
Mar 15, 2014
Boise, Idaho (Appleton Tennis Center)

#19 Boise State 4, #46 Virginia Tech 3

Doubles competition
1. Hunter Koontz/Andreas Bjerrehus (VTU) def. Brendan McClain/Garrett Patton (BSU) 8-7 (7-3)
2. Andy Bettles/Thomas Tenreiro (BSU) def. Jai Corbett/Joao Monteiro (VTU) 8-4
3. Toby Mitchell/Nathan Sereke (BSU) def. Amerigo Contini/Florian Nicoud (VTU) 8-4
Order of finish: 3,2,1

Singles competition
1. #24 Amerigo Contini (VTU) def. #60 Andy Bettles (BSU) 3-6, 6-2, 7-5
2. Nathan Sereke (BSU) def. Hunter Koontz (VTU) 6-4, 3-6, 6-4
3. Thomas Tenreiro (BSU) def. Andreas Bjerrehus (VTU) 7-5, 6-1
4. Joao Monteiro (VTU) def. Garrett Patton (BSU) 6-3, 6-3
5. Brendan McClain (BSU) def. Aaron Gomez (VTU) 7-6 (7-0), 3-6, 6-3
6. Florian Nicoud (VTU) def. Brian Foley (BSU) 7-6 (7-5), 3-6, 6-3
Order of finish: 4,3,2,5,6,1