BOISE, Idaho The No. 27-ranked Boise State men’s tennis team played host to a pair of ITA Mountain Region opponents on Saturday, splitting 1-1 on the day with a win over the University of Idaho and falling in the afternoon to the University of Utah. The Broncos (7-5, 1-0 WAC) earned a 5-2 win over the Idaho Vandals (7-5). Earning a 1-1 region record for the season as well this weekend, the Broncos could not hold on for their second match of the day, falling in a nail biter of a match, 4-3, to the Utah Utes (7-4).

In their first match-up of the day, the Broncos fed off their doubles win against the Vandals on Friday night and continued with singles play Saturday morning at the Boas Tennis Center. The Broncos had earned an 8-2 win by Cristian Hodel and Freddy Walsh in the No. 3 doubles match, downing Idaho’s Hugh McDonald and Alan Shin to go up 1-0 in doubles play. Idaho evened the score with an 8-2 win by Stanislav Glukhov and Artem Kuznetsov over Stanley Sarapanich and Erik Sheldon in the No. 2 doubles match. Leaving the No. 1 match to decide the doubles point, Kean Feeder and James Meredith were able to fight off Idaho’s Alexandru Joitoiu and Robert Chalkley for a 9-8 (8-3) win to clinch the doubles point.

In singles action, Boise State was led by No. 57-ranked Feeder who brought big momentum to the Bronco squad after picking up a 6-1, 6-0 win over Kuznetsov in the No. 1 match. Boise State’s Sarapanich was able to put the Broncos up 3-0 in the team standings with a 6-2, 6-1 win over Chalkley in the No. 4 match. Freshman Hodel clinched the team title for the Broncos when he downed Joitoiu, 6-2, 6-4 in the No. 3 match. Idaho’s Shin was able to earn one team point with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Matt Solomon. Boise State’s Walsh rounded out the Broncos’ team points with a 6-2, 6-4 win over McDonald in the No. 6 match while Idaho’s Glukhov was able to earn one more point for the Vandals when he defeated Meredith 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 in the No. 2 singles match.

Turning around and beginning play just 90-minutes later, the Broncos took on the University of Utah in their second ITA Mountain Region dual of the season.

Looking a bit worn, the Broncos suffered a three-match sweep by the Utes in doubles play, going down 1-0 to Utah. Utah’s John Taylor and Timmy Allin were the first to earn a win, defeating Boise State’s Solomon and Sarapanich, 8-3, in the No. 2 doubles match. Phillip Eilers and Wes Hancock finished shortly after with an 8-6 win over Feeder and Meredith in the No. 1 match while Benito Suriano and Stephen Jacobs picked up an 8-7 win over Hodel and Walsh in the No. 3 match to sweep the doubles point.

The Utes were able to jump to a 2-0 lead when Allin earned a speedy 6-1, 6-2 victory over Boise State’s Walsh in the No. 6 singles match. No. 57-ranked Feeder earned the first team point for the Broncos, defeating Hancock, 6-3, 6-3, in the No. 1 singles match. Meredith followed closely behind, downing Othman Zerouali-Ouariti, 7-5, 6-1, in the No. 3 match, tying up the team score at 2-2. A 2-6, 7-5, 6-3 win by No. 62-ranked Clancy Shields in the No. 2 singles match over Eilers put the Broncos up 3-2 in the team running. The Utes answered back, however, with Smits earning a 1-6, 6-4, 7-6 (1) victory over Sarapanich in the No. 5 singles match.

With the team scores tied at 3-3, the deciding point came down to the third-set tie-break of the No. 4 singles match where Utah’s Taylor was able to outlast Boise State’s Hodel, 7-6, 4-6, 7-6 (3) to clinch the team title.

Boise State will now prepare to host Texas A&M on Fri., Mar. 6 in a 1 p.m. match at the Boas Tennis Center.

Tennis Match Results

University of Idaho vs Boise State University

Feb 27-28, 2009 at Boise, Idaho

#27 Boise State University 5, University of Idaho 2

 Singles competition

1. #57 Kean Feeder (BSU) def. Artem Kuznetsov (IDAHO) 6-1, 6-0

2. Stanislav Glukhov (IDAHO) def. James Meredith (BSU) 2-6, 6-4, 6-4

3. Cristian Hodel (BSU) def. Alexandru Joitoiu (IDAHO) 6-2, 6-4

4. Stanley Sarapanich (BSU) def. Robert Chalkley (IDAHO) 6-2, 6-1

5. Alan Shin (IDAHO) def. Matt Solomon (BSU) 6-4, 6-2

6. Freddy Walsh (BSU) def. Hugh McDonald (IDAHO) 6-2, 6-4

 Doubles competition

1. Kean Feeder/James Meredith (BSU) def. Alexandru Joitoiu/Robert Chalkley (IDAHO) 9-8 (8-3)

2. Stanislav Glukhov/Artem Kuznetsov (IDAHO) def. Stanley Sarapanich/Erik Sheldon (BSU) 8-2

3. Cristian Hodel/Freddy Walsh (BSU) def. Hugh McDonald/Alan Shin (IDAHO) 8-2

Match Notes:

University of Idaho 7-5

Boise State University 7-4; National ranking #27

Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (1,4,3,5,6,2)

Tennis Match Results

University of Utah vs Boise State University

Feb 28, 2009 at Boise, Idaho

University of Utah 4, #27 Boise State University 3

 Singles competition

1. #57 Kean Feeder (BSU) def. Wes Hancock (UTAH) 6-3, 6-3

2. #62 Clancy Shields (BSU) def. Phillip Eilers (UTAH) 2-6, 7-5, 6-3

3. James Meredith (BSU) def. O. Zerouali-Ouariti (UTAH) 7-5, 6-1

4. John Taylor (UTAH) def. Cristian Hodel (BSU) 7-6, 4-6, 7-6 (7-3)

5. Jason Smits (UTAH) def. Stanley Sarapanich (BSU) 1-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7-1)

6. Timmy Allin (UTAH) def. Freddy Walsh (BSU) 6-1, 6-2

 Doubles competition

1. Phillip Eilers/Wes Hancock (UTAH) def. Kean Feeder/James Meredith (BSU) 8-6

2. John Taylor/Timmy Allin (UTAH) def. Matt Solomon/Stanley Sarapanich (BSU) 8-3

3. Benito Suriano/Stephen Jacobs (UTAH) def. Cristian Hodel/Freddy Walsh (BSU) 8-7

Match Notes:

University of Utah 7-4

Boise State University 7-5; National ranking #27

Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (6,1,3,2,5,4)

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