Van Assendelft Upsets No. 4 Singles Player in Blue Gray National Tennis Classic Opener

Friday, February 23

Montgomery, Ala.

8 a.m. MT

Boise State

Michigan State

Jip van Assendelft charges the net to return a shot during the 2023 ITA Mountain Regional.

Van Assendelft Upsets No. 4 Singles Player in Blue Gray National Tennis Classic Opener

2/23/2024 2:22:00 PM | Men's Tennis

Box Score

By: Courtesy: Boise State Athletics

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Boise State men's tennis opened the Blue Gray National Tennis Classic with a 4-1 defeat at the hands of No. 16 Michigan State on Friday morning. The loss moved the 49th-ranked Broncos to 6-5 overall.

The day began with the Spartans taking the doubles point 2-0 from the Broncos with wins at the No. 1 and 3 positions.

Trailing 2-0, Boise State's Jip van Assendelft closed the Broncos deficit to one with a big upset victory on court two in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4, over the fourth-ranked player in the nation, Ozan Baris.

Unfortunately, that was the lone win for the Blue and Orange on the day. However, James Van Herzeele was close to winning his No. 4 singles match, leading 6-4, 3-6, 5-1, when the contest was abandoned following MSU's clinching the team victory.

Notables

Van Assendelft recorded his 13th singles victory of the year to move into a three-way tie for the most wins on the team.
Van Assendelft's upset win over No. 4 Baris is the highest-ranked singles victory by a Bronco since 2000; surpassing his coach, Luke Shields' win over No. 5 Ludovic Walter of Duke on May 26, 2005, at the NCAA National Singles Championship...it was also the first loss of the year for MSU's Baris snapping a six-match win streak.

What's Next

Boise State will continue to play at the Blue Gray National Tennis Classic in the consolation draw Saturday morning versus 26th-ranked Middle Tennessee, which lost 4-2 to No. 48 Auburn on Friday.

Results

No. 16 Michigan State (11-0) def. No. 49 Boise State (6-5) 4-1
2/23/2024 at Montgomery, Ala.

Doubles (Order of finish: 1,3)

#1 Ozan Baris/Max Sheldon (MSU) def. Sam Sippel/Jip van Assendelft (BSU) 6-2
Caden Moortgat/Jan Lucca Marquardt (BSU) vs. Sebastien Collard/Taym Alazmeh (MSU) 5-5, DNF
Graydon Lair/Ronald Hohmann (MSU) def. James Van Herzeele/Jett Middleton (BSU) 6-4