Broncos Head to ITA Kickoff Weekend in Columbus, Ohio

Notables

BOISE, Idaho – It is a big week for the Boise State men's tennis team as the Broncos head to the prestigious ITA Kickoff Weekend as part of the Columbus, Ohio, draw hosted by Ohio State University. At stack is a berth into the ITA Men's Team Indoor Championship hosted by Columbia University in New York City Feb. 16-19.

The Columbus draw is one of 15 this weekend. Boise State (2-0) opens the competition on Saturday at 11 a.m. (Mountain) against the Oregon Ducks (3-0) at OSU's Ty Tucker Tennis Center. Depending on the outcome of that contest, the Broncos will face either top-ranked Ohio State (2-0) or Vanderbilt (4-0) on Sunday morning.

All four teams are currently undefeated, with the Buckeyes being the only ranked team of the four heading into the tournament. The Blue and Orange enters the week at 2-0 following a pair of home victories last Saturday over Idaho State (6-1) and Lewis-Clark State (7-0).

NEED TO KNOW

Boise State at ITA Kickoff Weekend

The Location: Columbus, Ohio (Ty Tucker Tennis Center)
Date(s): Saturday and Sunday (Jan. 26-27)
Live Stats (all matches): SideArmStats
Live Stream (all matches): GoOSU.com
ITA Kickoff Weekend Scoreboard: All Results
ITA Kickoff Weekend Bracket: Men's Bracket

Schedule

First Round: Boise State vs. Oregon | Saturday at 11 a.m. (MT)
Second Round: Boise State vs. No. 1 Ohio State or Vanderbilt | Sunday at either 7 a.m. or 10 a.m. (MT)

THE MATCHUPS

Oregon: The Ducks enter the week at 3-0 overall. All three victories came at home over Purdue (4-3), Pacific (4-0) and Seattle (7-0). Oregon finished the 2023 campaign at 14-13 overall and ranked 48th in the final ITA poll. Boise State is 15-6 all-time versus the Ducks, dating back to the 1988 season.
Ohio State: The Buckeyes enter the week ranked No. 1 nationally and seeded second in the ITA Kickoff Weekend tournament. Ohio State is 2-0 overall with home wins over Eastern Illinois (7-0) and Xavier (7-0). The defending B1G champion went 34-3 in 2023 and finished ranked second nationally after falling 4-0 in the national championship match to Virginia. The Broncos are 0-4 all-time versus Ohio State, dating back to 1989.
Vanderbilt: The Commodores bring a 4-0 mark to Columbus with home wins over East Tennessee (6-0), Tennessee State (6-1), Tennessee Tech (7-0) and Alabama A&M (7-0). Vanderbilt went 8-17 in 2023 and finished ranked No. 72 in the final poll. This would be the second meeting all-time, with Vanderbilt defeating the Broncos 4-3 at 2009 ITA Kickoff Weekend.

TEAM NOTES

After a six-year absence from the Kickoff Weekend, the Broncos return to the event this year…Boise State played in the first nine editions of the competition from 2009-17…only the top nationally ranked teams from the previous season are invited.
Boise State finished last year with a 21-8 overall record and ranked 60th nationally.
Of the 32 teams that the Broncos could potentially face – several are in tournaments, so they will not face all of them – on their 2024 schedule, 17 finished ranked in the top 75 in the final ITA poll last year.
The Broncos are the defending Mountain West Tournament champions and have won five MW tournament titles since joining the league in 2012 (2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2023).

INDIVIDUAL NOTES

Sam Sippel enters the week at 8-5 overall in singles…he entered the spring season ranked 40th nationally in singles.
Jip van Assendelft went 7-1 in singles last fall and is now 9-2…he advanced to the quarterfinal round of the ITA Mountain Region Championships in September.
James Van Herzeele has an 8-5 record in singles…he reached the round of 16 in singles at the regional championship and is 2-0 so far in spring team duals.
Jett Middleton is 10-5 in singles and 2-0 in team duals…he won the ITA Mountain Region consolation singles final against teammate Caden Moortgat.
Caden Moortgat went 8-5 in singles play and 7-3 in doubles during the fall semester…reached the regional consolation singles final in September before falling to Middleton in the championship match.

Coaching Notes

Luke Shields is in his second season as the head coach at his alma mater, Boise State…he was named the Mountain West Coach of the Year in 2023 – the third of his career and the first with the Broncos – after leading the team to a 21-8 overall record, the MW Tournament Championship and to the first round of the NCAA tournament…his currently 23-8 at Boise State and 116-71 in his career as a collegiate head coach.
Daniel Hangstefer joined the Bronco staff as the associate head coach last summer…he was the head coach at Idaho for five years prior to coming to Boise State.