Broncos to Compete at Diablo College Tennis Invitational in Tempe

BOISE, Idaho – Boise State is headed to its second major tournament in two weeks as the Broncos travel to Tempe, Ariz., for the second annual Diablo College Tennis Invitational this Friday through Sunday hosted by Arizona State University.

The Blue and Orange will open the tournament against the host school, 23rd-ranked Arizona State (8-4), at 5 p.m. (Mountain) on Friday at the Kiwanis Tennis Center in Tempe. Then, depending on Friday's results, the Broncos will play either No. 9 Arizona or Grand Canyon at 5 p.m. on Saturday.

Boise State enters the Diablo College Tennis Invitational at 6-7 overall and ranked 58th nationally. The Broncos are coming off a tough Blue Gray National Tennis Classic at Montgomery, Ala., last week, where they went 0-3 against three nationally ranked opponents, falling 4-1 to No. 16 Michigan State, then 4-2 versus both 26th-ranked Middle Tennessee and No. 47 Old Dominion.

The field in Tempe includes No. 9 Arizona, No. 15 Michigan State, No. 23 Arizona State, No. 30 VCU, No. 36 Michigan, No. 51 Liberty, and Grand Canyon.

In addition to six teams being ranked in the ITA Top 75, this competition includes six doubles teams ranked in the ITA Top 75 and 15 individuals among the top 125 in singles, including Boise State's 43rd-ranked Sam Sippel.

This is the second straight year that Boise State has competed at the Diablo College Tennis Invitational. In last year's edition, the Blue and Orange went 2-1, falling to No. 24 Memphis (4-1) before defeating No. 61 Drake (4-3) and No. 69 Liberty (4-1).

NEED TO KNOW

Diablo College Tennis Invitational, presented by Dan Treon Law.
Tempe, Ariz. | March 1-3
Kiwanis Tennis Center

MATCH 1: No. 58 Boise State (6-7) vs. No. 23 Arizona State (8-4)

Date | Time: Friday (March 1) | 5 p.m. MT
Live Stats: Side Arm Stats

THE MATCHUPS

Arizona State: The Sun Devils enter the week ranked 23rd nationally with an 8-4 overall record. They are coming off a 2-0 home weekend with wins over Nevada (5-2) and Grand Canyon (4-0). This will be the second meeting all-time, with ASU winning the previous meeting 4-0 at the Blue Gray National Tennis Classic at Montgomery, Ala., in 2018.

TEAM NOTES

RECORD: The Broncos are 6-7 overall, 4-0 at home, 2-3 in neutral contests, and 0-4 in true road matches.
DEFEATS: All seven losses have come to teams ranked No. 47 or better at the time of the meeting.
TOUGH SCHEDULE: The Broncos will go through a gauntlet this year with 21 of the 35 potential opponents currently ranked in the 2024 ITA Top 75, with 17 finishing ranked in the final poll last year.
BRONCOS IN SINGLES: The 2024 spring roster consists of 11 student-athletes; seven have already reached 10-plus singles victories this year (fall and spring).
2023 RECAP: Boise State finished last year with a 21-8 overall record and ranked 60th nationally.
2023 HIGHLIGHTS: The Broncos are the defending Mountain West tournament champions, winning five tournament titles since joining the league in 2012 (2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2023) and 17 conference tournament titles overall.

BRONCO NOTES

Sam Sippel enters the week ranked 43rd nationally in singles with a 12-10 overall mark and a 5-5 record at the No. 1 position this spring, where he has faced five nationally-ranked opponents…he was named the Mountain West Player of the Week on Jan. 31.
Jip van Assendelft typically plays at No. 2 singles, where he is 5-5 with a 13-7 overall record on the year…he led Boise State at the Blue Gray National Tennis Classic (Feb. 23-24) where he defeated fourth-ranked Ozan Baris of Michigan State in straight sets, then teamed with Sippel to beat the 16th-ranked doubles team from Old Dominion, the van Schalkwyk brothers.
James Van Herzeele has a 13-7 record in singles and is 7-2 in team duals, playing primarily at the No. 3 and 4 positions…he reached the round of 16 in singles at the ITA regional last fall.
Jett Middleton is 14-8 overall in singles and 6-3 in team duals, playing primarily at the four and five positions…he won the ITA Mountain Region consolation singles final against teammate Caden Moortgat.
Caden Moortgat (10) and Liam Toroman (11) have reached the 10-plus wins mark this season.
Jan Lucca Marquardt and Caden Moortgat have teamed up for doubles play, where they are a team-best 12-8 on the year and 3-5 at the No. 2 position this spring.

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 the first round of the NCAA tournament…his currently 27-15 at Boise State and 120-78 in his career as a collegiate head coach.