Broncos Staring Down MW Title on the Road at Air Force and New Mexico

BOISE, Idaho — Boise State closes the regular season with the Mountain West championship on the line as the Broncos travel to play at Air Force on Thursday and at New Mexico on Saturday. If Boise State wins both contests, it would, at a minimum, clinch a share of the conference's regular season title.

The Broncos are currently 3-1 in league play and tied with New Mexico, while Utah State is a half-game up at 4-1. Both the Lobos (UNM's match at UNLV was rained out) and Aggies have only one match remaining, with USU playing at San Diego State on Saturday. The Lobos will face the Broncos in the season finale at Albuquerque, and the loser will be eliminated.

Scenarios

Boise State will be the sole champion if USU falls at San Diego State on Saturday and the Broncos win both matches.
If Utah State wins at SDSU and the Broncos win both, they will share the title.
A loss by the Broncos at UNM will eliminate them from title contention.
A loss at Air Force and a win at UNM would mean Boise State still has hope of sharing the championship. However, it would need help from the Aztecs, who would need to beat Utah State.

The 61st-ranked Broncos are coming off a pair of home victories last week defeating UNLV, 5-2, and Nevada, 4-0. Boise State enters this week at 15-10 overall and 3-1 in MW play.

NEED TO KNOW

Match 1: No. 61 Boise State (15-10, 3-1 MW) at Air Force (6-12, 1-4 MW)

Location: USAFA, Colo.
Date and Time: April 18 (Thursday) at 2 p.m. MT
Live Stats: None
Live Stream: PlaySight

Match 2: No. 61 Boise State (15-10, 3-1 MW) at No. 72 New Mexico (12-8, 3-1 MW)

Location: Albuquerque, N.M.
Date and Time: April 20 (Saturday) at Noon MT
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Live Stream: Track.Tennis (URL available on match day; check website schedule)

TEAM NOTES

RECORD: The Broncos are 15-10 overall, 12-0 at home, 3-4 in neutral contests, and 0-6 in true road matches.
UNDEFEATED AT HOME: Boise State finished the season undefeated at home, going 12-0. It is the sixth undefeated home campaign since 1996 and the first since the 2012 team went 19-0.
VERSUS THE OPPONENT: Since the 1982 campaign, Boise State is 10-9 versus Air Force and 3-1 in matches played at the academy. The Broncos are 23-14 against New Mexico and 9-4 versus the Lobos in Albuquerque.
TOUGH SCHEDULE: The Broncos have challenged themselves this year. They have played 10 matches against competition nationally ranked in the top 75, going 2-8, and they have one more on the slate this year versus No. 72 New Mexico in the regular season finale.
NATIONALLY RANKED BRONCOS: Boise State currently has one nationally ranked doubles team. The tandem of Sam Sippel and Jip van Assendelft is currently ranked No. 47.
BRONCOS IN SINGLES: The 2024 spring roster consists of 11 student-athletes; two have recorded 20 singles victories, three others have 15 or more, and five have 10-plus.

BRONCO NOTES

Sam Sippel enters the week with a 16-15 overall mark and a 9-9 record at the No. 1 position this spring. He has faced 12 nationally ranked opponents and has gone 3-9 in those contests.
Jip van Assendelft typically plays at No. 2 singles, where he is 6-12 with a 14-14 overall record.
James Van Herzeele has a 21-9 record in singles and is 15-4 in team duals, playing primarily at the No. 3 and 4 positions.
Jett Middleton is 17-12 overall in singles and 9-7 in team duals, playing primarily at the four and five positions. He won the ITA Mountain Region consolation singles final against teammate Caden Moortgat.
Idriss Haddouch currently leads the team with an active 15-match wins streak. He plays primarily at the fifth and sixth singles positions where he is 15-1 in duals. He is 20-10 overall in singles.
John Chin is 15-11 in singles on the year and 11-6 in team dual competitions, playing primarily at the five and six positions.
Caden Moortgat (10), Liam Toroman (11), and Kyvan Rietkerk (10) have reached the 10-plus wins mark this season.

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. He is currently 36-18 at Boise State and 129-81 in his career as a collegiate head coach.