Coach Patton: "Matias is like a panther on the court who stalks his prey with patience and stealth, then strikes with deadly groundstrokes that make the most hardened observer recoil in amazement. That tenacity has led 'El Jeffe' (the Chief) to his second straight appearance in the Finals of the Fall Regional Singles Championship as well as the Peruvian National Singles Championship and victory in two out of three Davis Cup singles matches for his home country of Peru."
Player Bio
Fall 2004 (Senior): Has transformed himself into one of the top players in collegiate tennis by putting quality time into conditioning. Took second at ITA Region Men's Tennis Championship in Las Vegas, earning him the number two singles ranking in the region…loss was to 46th ranked Henner Nehles of UNLV…also holds the number 7 doubles ranking in the region with teammate Ikaika Jobe…performance at ITA Regionals in Las Vegas qualified him for the National Indoor Invitational at the University of Michigan Nov. 4-7 where he battled three of the top players in the nation, losing to Martin Wetzel of Harvard 6-2, 6-7, 6-3; defeating tenth-ranked Adrians Zgun of Arkansas 2-6, 7-5, 7-6; and losing to Mrek Velicka of Oklahoma 4-6, 6-4, 6-1…ranked as high as number three in Peru, Matias also represented Peru in the second round of the Davis Cup Group I playoffs in Guayaquil, Ecuador and the huge third round upset of Brazil in Brasilia.
2003-04 (Junior): Ranked Second in the Mountain Region after an impressive run to make it to the championship match of the fall regional championships...went 9-5 in singles in the fall and 4-2 in doubles with teammate Mahmoud Rezk.
2002-03 (Sophomore): Tallied records of 23-12 in singles overall and 16-9 in dual matches...in doubles, he combined with Thomas Schoeck for a record of 7-5, Ehren Vaughan for a record of 4-5, and Mahmoud Rezk for a record of 6-1...a member of the 2003 WAC Championship Team. Playing at number five singles n the 2003 WAC championship, in which BSU upset Rice and SMU for BSU's first WAC title, Matias Silva won his first set 7-6, then fell behind 3-0 in the second set to Ryan Mauck before coming back to win the next six games for a crucial straight-sets victory.
2001-02 (Freshman): In singles as a freshman, went 24-12 overall and 16-7 in dual matches playing at numbers three and four ... in doubles, went 6-8 with Mahmoud Rezk and 7-1 with Marcus Berntson.
Juniors: Was number one singles in Peru throughout junior career, including under 12s, under 14s, under 16s, and under 18s…club coach was Toni Montanaro.
Personal: Born in Lima, Peru……started playing tennis at age nine with father who played every week…has two sisters: Valeria, 19, who swam for Peru in the breaststroke at the Athens Olympics, and Micaela, 14…hobbies include soccer, basketball, and watching movies.
20 Questions With Matias Silva
Boise State Senior from Peru answers 20 "hot topic" questions.
(12/10/04)
Q: Who is your all-time favorite tennis player? Pete Sampras because of his game and personality. He's the best ever.
Q: Name your three favorite athletes. Michael Jordan, "Ronaldo" the famous soccer player from Brazil, and Gustavo Kuerten of Brazil because of his personality. He's really fun to watch. I've met him, too. He's a great guy.
Q: Who is your favorite BSU athlete not on your own team? Probably Jason Ellis, forward on the basketball team.
Q: If you could play anyone one-on-one, dead or alive, who would it be? Roger Federer because he's so unbelievably talented and so much fun to watch.
Q: Who's your favorite sports team? The Lakers. Even with Shaq gone, they're my team. I like Kobe and I like the Laker's mystique.
Q: What's your best weapon or most effective tactic on the tennis court? My forehand is my biggest weapon.
Q: What's your favorite sports movie? "Remember the Titans" and "Hoosiers"
Q: What's the best movie you've ever seen? "Dude, Where's My Car?"
Q: Who do you hang out with? My tennis guys
Q: What's your favorite food? I like Chinese and of course I love Peruvian food.
Q: What's your cell phone ring tone? "American Idiot" by Green Day
Q: Roger Federer or anybody else? Roger
Q: What was your most memorable road trip as a Bronco and what made it so memorable? The WAC tournament my freshman year at Tulsa because we were the underdogs and we played really well as a team. It was a great experience and I played really well. I had some big wins at number three singles to help the team.
Q: What are your nicknames? "Mati" which is short for my name, "El Jefe" which means "the chief," and "El Tigre" which is Spanish for tiger and tells you about my personality on the court.
Q: What was your most thrilling athletic experience? Playing on the Peruvian Davis Cup Team.
Q: What TV show can you not miss an episode of? The OC and SportsCenter.
Q: What gets the heaviest rotation on your CD player or mp3 player? Green Day and Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Q: Who is your celebrity dream date? Jennifer Lopez
Q: Tell us something about yourself that most people don't know. My sister represented Peru at the Olympics in Greece, swimming in the breaststroke. I didn't get to go. I had to watch her on TV. But my parents went to Greece to watch her compete.
Q: Describe yourself in three words. Funny, smart, and tough.
Q: If you weren't playing tennis, what other sport would you play? Soccer
Club Coach: Tony Montanaro
