Broncos Dispatch Vandals in Rivalry Match

BOISE, Idaho - Wyatt DeMulling's singles victory handed Boise State a 4-1 win over rival Idaho on Sunday afternoon in Boise. With Boise State leading 3-1, DeMulling rallied twice to win his singles match on court five to clinch the team win. He trailed 3-0 in the opening set, then came back to take it 6-4. The junior found himself trailing once again in the second set only to rally from 4-3 down to force it into a tiebreaker. DeMulling then put away Idaho's Lucas Coutinho in a tiebreaker to win his match 6-4, 7-6(5) to end the contest with the Broncos on top.

Boise State puts away the Idaho Vandals 4-1!!! Broncos move to 7-3 on the year!!!

GO BRONCOS! #BleedBlue @BroncoSports @boisestatelive @MW_OlySports @AVCAVolleyball pic.twitter.com/n9arKTGLHw
— Boise State MTennis (@BroncoSportsMTN) March 10, 2019

"I am really proud of the way the guys showed a lot of resilience coming off a disappointing loss yesterday to BYU," said Boise State head coach Kristian Widen. "They came out with a lot of energy, rejuvenated and went full throttle against a good Idaho team. You think that playing at home you would have a home court advantage, but Idaho handled it well because they play so much on the road. Stefan (Lalovic) did a great job for us not expecting to play, but stepped in when he was needed and didn't miss a beat. It was a good win for us heading into a busy week."

The match was a hard played by both teams including the doubles point, which the Broncos won 2-1. Boise State took the No. 1 doubles match when DeMulling and Stefan Lalovic won 6-2 over Carlos Neto and Coutinho. Idaho then came back to win No. 2 doubles, setting up the decisive match on court three.

The No. 3 doubles match went to a tiebreaker where the Broncos' Luka Soskic and Simon Stenlund came away with the win to defeat Guilherme Scarpelli and Bruno Cusino 7-6(5) to earn Boise State the team point.

Up one heading into singles, the Broncos needed three singles victories to avenge last year's 4-3 loss to Idaho. Things started off slow as the Vandals tied the match up at 1-1 with a win on court one. That was followed by Boise State's Simon Arca Costas' No. 4 singles victory in straight sets 6-3, 6-2 over Scarpelli.

Lalovic moved the Broncos to within one of victory when he defeated Cusino at No. 6 singles 7-5, 6-2. That left three matches left with two heading into a third set, in addition to DeMulling's match going into the decisive tiebreaker to clinch.

The Broncos are now 7-3 overall heading into a busy week at home which starts with Pacific Wednesday morning, Denver Thursday afternoon and UTSA (Texas, San Antonio) on Saturday.

Match Summary

Idaho (4-6) at Boise State (7-3)
3/10/2019 at Boise, Idaho (Boas Indoor Tennis Center)

Boise State 4, Idaho 1

Doubles
1. Wyatt DeMulling/Stefan Lalovic (BSU) def. Carlos Neto/Lucas Coutinho (ID) 6-2
2. Valentin Popescu/Esteban Santibanez (ID) def. Simon Arca Costas/Jack Heslin (BSU) 6-4
3. Simon Stenlund/Luka Soskic (BSU) def. Guilherme Scarpelli/Bruno Cusino (ID) 7-6 (7-5)

Singles
1. Carlos Neto (ID) def. Jack Heslin (BSU) 6-3, 6-2
2. Luka Soskic (BSU) vs. Esteban Santibanez (ID) 6-3, 3-6, 3-1, DNF
3. Max Blancaneaux (BSU) vs. Valentin Popescu (ID) 6-3, 4-6, 0-2, DNF
4. Simon Arca Costas (BSU) def. Guilherme Scarpelli (ID) 6-3, 6-2
5. Wyatt DeMulling (BSU) def. Lucas Coutinho (ID) 6-4, 7-5
6. Stefan Lalovic (BSU) def. Bruno Cusino (ID) 7-5, 6-2

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

Match Summary

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Simon Arca Costas

Wyatt DeMulling

Jack Heslin

Stefan Lalovic

Luka Soskic

Simon Stenlund

Boise State Athletics