BOISE, Idaho- Garrett Patton and Thomas Tenreiro took down nationally-ranked opponents to rally Boise State men's tennis to a 4-3 win against Arizona Saturday, at Appleton Tennis Center. With the Broncos trailing 3-2, Patton and Tenreiro each went to a third set and pulled out emphatic wins in front of an energized home crowd.

"We were in the third set with their top two players and needed them both- and we responded," said head coach Greg Patton. "It was epic. We live for those moments and we want more. You saw how much our guys cared. They treated it like a championship. Every match we play is a championship for us right now."

Garrett Patton shook off a second-set tiebreak loss to cruise to victory in the third set on court one and earn the win 7-5, 6-7, 6-2 against No. 45 Naoki Takeda. That set stage for Tenreiro, who was in a battle on court two with No. 118 Sumeet Shinde.

The Bronco sophomore had dropped the first set in a tiebreak, but responded with a 6-2 win in the second set. Shinde took the first two games of the decisive third set, before Tenreiro reeled off the next four games including a handful of aces to take control. Shinde did not go away. He crawled back to within 4-3 and had triple break point to knot the score at four games apiece. Tenreiro used big serve after big serve to turn away the rally. He went ahead 5-3 and won the next game to take the set 6-3, clinching the match, the team victory and setting off celebrations on the court and in the stands.

"There's no doubt that the schedule we've had and the adversity we've had can defeat people," said head coach Greg Patton. "These guys came back stronger. For us to come back after losing the doubles point is major. For Tommy and Garrett to beat nationally-ranked players is huge. As you go through a journey, you're either going to go forward or go backward. Most people don't want to do what it takes to go forward. Most people don't want to climb that mountain. Garrett and Tommy both climbed the mountain today. The whole thing is to grow from it. A win like this justifies the things that we've been doing. Sometimes they think it might be too much or too intense, but it's important. Then you see the joy that they get from it"

Sophomore Abe Hewko had a big day for the Broncos, winning in doubles and singles. Hewko teamed with Patton for a 6-3 victory on court two in doubles, before rolling to a straight-sets win on court six in singles (6-4, 6-4).

Arizona (7-11) took the final two doubles matches to claim the team point and carried the momentum into singles. The Wildcats won on court four and extended its leads to 2-0. That's when the top of the Bronco lineup took over.

Toby Mitchell cruised to a 6-3, 6-0 win on court three while Patton and Tenreiro were asserting themselves. Hewko's win evened the match briefly, before Arizona claimed court five.

Needing wins on the top two courts for the team victory, Boise State fed off the crowd of nearly 400 that turned out on a 70-degree, blue-sky day in Boise.

"Mother Nature gave us a kiss today," said Greg Patton. "The crowd has always been something that makes Boise State special. They raise us. There's no doubt they helped us win those two matches. They're behind us and when you have people behind you, you play for them."

The Broncos (6-10) will look to draw on the same advantage when they continue their homestand Monday March 23, at 4 p.m., against Cal Poly.

Match Summary
Arizona (7-11) at Boise State (6-10)
March 21, 2015 | Boise, Idaho (Appleton Tennis Center)

Boise State def. Arizona 4-3

Doubles
1. Sumeet Shinde/Naoki Takeda (Arizona) def. Lewis Roskilly/Thomas Tenreiro (Boise State) 6-2
2. Abe Hewko/Garrett Patton (Boise State) def. Shoki Kasahara/David Mushayev (Arizona), 6-3
3. Matt Dunn/Jason Jaruvang (Arizona) def. Brian Foley/Toby Mitchell (Boise State), 6-2
Order of finish: 2,3,1

Singles
1. Garrett Patton (Boise State) def. Naoki Takeda (Arizona) 7-5, 6-7, 6-2
2. Thomas Tenreiro (Boise State) def. Sumeet Shinde (Arizona) 6-7, 6-2, 6-3
3. Toby Mitchell (Boise State) def. David Mushayev (Arizona) 6-3, 6-0
4. Jason Juruvang (Arizona) def. Brian Foley (Boise State) 6-3, 6-1
5. Will Kneale (Arizona) def. Lewis Roskilly (Boise State) 6-4, 6-3
6. Abe Hewko (Boise State) def. Shoki Kasahara (Arizona) 6-4, 6-4
Order of finish: 4,3,6,5,1,2