Freshmen Shine in Their Debuts as Broncos down Bengals 6-1

Saturday, January 19

Boise, Idaho

11:00 AM

Boise State

Idaho State

Photo by: Boise State Sports Information Dept.

Freshmen Shine in Their Debuts as Broncos down Bengals 6-1

1/19/2019 2:46:00 PM | Women's Tennis

The Boise State women's tennis team cruised to a victory over Idaho State in its season opener.

BOISE, Idaho (1/19/19) – The Boise State Broncos women's tennis team opened their season by earning a dominant victory over the Idaho State Bengals 6-1 Saturday in Boise, giving head coach Beck Roghaar his 100th career victory.

Despite a strong 6-1 doubles win from Wilhelmina Palmer and Lilian Poling on court one, Boise State was not able to take the doubles point after a gritty tiebreaker match on court two where Wiktoria Nosek and Vanessa Timm lost the hard-fought battle 7-3(3). Though they trailed heading into singles play, the Broncos did not let the early 1-0 deficit affect them

The first point for the Broncos came when junior Nosek dominated her singles match to earn a 6-3, 6-0 victory over Melissa Coburn on court three to even the score at one apiece.

The headline of the day was the stellar play from three Boise State freshmen in their debut matches. Emily Strande played at the No. 4 singles spot for the Broncos, and proved that she belonged as she cruised to a 6-4, 6-3 win over Alexandra Arkhipov. Not to be outdone by her fellow freshman, Frankie Trella earned a convincing singles victory of her own over Megan Poe by a score of 6-4, 6-1 to give the Broncos the 3-1 lead. Sydnie Binder also played well in her doubles match with Jovana Kuljanin at the No. 3 position, but the two lost to their opponents.

"I was super nervous when I first went out there, but it felt so cool being on a team and having everyone there to support me," said Strande. "I feel as the match went on I got more and more comfortable and it was so much fun to win and be able to celebrate with my team."

Trella also faced some nerves heading into her match, "I was really nervous at first but as the match went on I loosened up; having everyone cheer for me and my teammates being able to be there helped me finish off really well."

The top-two singles seeds for the Broncos stood tall amidst tough challenges from their opponents. On court one, reigning Mountain West Freshman of the Year Palmer ground out a tough two-set victory against Louise-Mare Botes 6-2, 7-5, while Poling battled back from a tough first set to win the No. 2 match 1-6, 6-3, 6-1.

On court five, Vanessa Timm showed great determination during the final match of the day, as she battled for a 6-4, 6-7(4), 1-0(12-10) over Angela Walker giving the Broncos the sweep of all six singles matches on the day.

The strong start for the Broncos will serve as momentum heading into next weekend when the Broncos take on Weber State and Lewis-Clark State in back-to-back home matches on Friday and Saturday respectively at Boas Indoor Tennis Center.

Idaho State vs Boise State 1/19/2019
Boise, Idaho (Boas Indoor Tennis Center)
Boise State 6, Idaho State 1

Singles competition

Wilhelmina Palmer (BSU) def. Botes, Louise-Mare (ISU) 6-2, 7-5 2.
Lilian Poling (BSU) def. Cvetkovic, Hristina (ISU) 1-6, 6-3, 6-1
Wiktoria Nosek (BSU) def. Coburn, Melissa (ISU) 6-3, 6-0
Emily Strande (BSU) def. Arkhipov, Alexandra (ISU) 6-4, 6-3
Vanessa Timm (BSU) def. Walker, Angela (ISU) 6-4, 6-7 (4-7), 1-0 (12-10)
Frankie Trella (BSU) def. Poe, Megan (ISU) 6-4, 6-1

Doubles Competition
    1. Wilhelmina Palmer/Lilian Poling (BSU) def. Cvetkovic, Hristina/POE, Megan (ISU) 6-1
    2. Arkhipov, Alexandra/BOTES, Louise-Mare (ISU) def. Vanessa Timm/Wiktoria Nosek (BSU) 7-6 (7-3)
    3. Coburn, Melissa/FENSKE, Madison (ISU) def. Sydnie Binder/Jovana Kuljanin (BSU) 6-2 Match Notes: Idaho State 0-1 Boise State 1-0

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