Jan. 19, 2010
Final Stats
Utah State Box Score 
Pocatello, ID - The Idaho State men's tennis team opened the season with strong play and several close matches before falling 5-2 to Utah State at Reed Gym Tuesday afternoon. Junior Danel Barrenechea posted a straight set victory at the No. 2 spot and freshman Nate Gross captured his first victory as a Bengal at the No. 5 position. Utah State improved to 1-1 for the season.
"Compared to last year the play was night and day. Those close matches were winnable. It's been awhile since we been in that situation," said Head Coach Bobby Goeltz. "We're more competitive than we have ever been (in recent years)."
The Bengals opened the match with some of its most competitive doubles play in the last three years with back-and-forth play in the early games of the matches before dropping the doubles point to start the match down 0-1. Senior Javier Royo and Barrenechea teamed up at the No. 1 spot taking Utah State's Bryan Marchant and Jakob Asplund to a 7-5 decision.
Brothers Dakota and Colton Pate paired up at the No. 2 position and were up a break at 7-6 after D. Pate held service before dropping its next three games giving Utah State's Sven Poslunsy and Amit Maharaj a tough fought 9-7 decision over the Bengals. Sophomore Dan Buckingham and Gross fell to USU's Alex Thatcher and Nate Ballam 8-6 at the No. 3 position.
Junior Barrenechea was the first Bengal to capture a victory when he defeated Jakob Asplund 6-3, 7-6 (7-5) at the No. 2 spot. Asplund competed at the No. 1 position for the Aggies last season. Barrenechea closed out the first set quickly taking a quick 3-1 start by holding service and breaking Asplund.
In the second set the 6-2 junior from Girona, Spain jumped to a 4-3 lead, but was unable to upset Asplund's service game to allow the Aggie to tie the contest three times sending the players into a tiebreaker. Barrenechea jumped to a 4-0 lead to start, but Asplund would have a 5-0 streak of his own to take the lead, but the Bengal would not be upset closing out its next three points for the win.
"Danel played a good, solid match today. I think maturity plays a factor. He could have let that go to a third set but realized that's a lot more work," said Goeltz. "He hadn't been playing much tennis over the break (due to weather), so the move to get into the tiebreaker and close out the second set was key."
Freshman Nate Gross defeated Utah State's Ballam in straight sets 6-2, 6-4 at the No. five spot. Gross fell to a 1-2 start after creating seven unforced errors. He quickly turned his play around winning the next five games with only four unforced errors between them. The freshman would again start the second set 1-2, but settled his game play to overcome the Aggie convincingly.
The No. 1 singles spot was a full out brawl as Bengal Royo and Aggie Poslusny played two tiebreakers in their three set match. Royo, Idaho State's only senior, returned to his No. 1 position which he held last year and fought through an ankle injury he sustained the week before. Royo was down a break at 4-5 before rallying back sending the set into a tiebreaker. Royo held a 6-4 lead before a referee overturned a call shifting the momentum in Poslusny's favor. The Aggie would capture the next three points before Royo would close out the first set 9-7 in the tiebreaker.
Royo would never be able to break Poslusny in the set with the Aggie never trailing for a 6-4 decision. In the third set Royo would take a 3-0 lead before Poslusny turned up the heat with a 4-0 streak. The match would go into yet another tie breaker that Poslusny would capture for the match to fall in his favor.
Sophomore Buckingham was no stranger to the tiebreaker as he was ousted by Thatcher who overcame the Bengal 7-6 (7-3), 6-2 at the No. 4 spot. D. Pate fell to Marchant 6-4, 6-1 at the No. 3 spot and freshman Colton Pate was the last off the court falling 6-2, 6-2 to Jose Limon at the No. 6 spot.
The Idaho State men's tennis team will compete in its first road match on Saturday, January 30 at 2 p.m. against Sacramento State.
"The outlook for this season is a hell of a lot higher than the last three seasons," said Goeltz. "We're competitive; we've got six competitive tennis players."
UTAH STATE 5, IDAHO STATE 2
Singles competition
1. Sven Poslunsy (USU) def. ROYO,Javier (ISU) 6-7 (7-9), 6-4, 7-6 (7-2)
2. BARRENECHEA,Danel (ISU) def. Jakob Asplund (USU) 6-3, 7-6 (7-5)
3. Bryan Marchant (USU) def. PATE,Dakota (ISU) 6-4, 6-1
4. Alex Thatcher (USU) def. BUCKINGHAM,Dan (ISU) 7-6 (7-3), 6-2
5. GROSS,Nate (ISU) def. Nate Ballam (USU) 6-2, 6-4
6. Jose Limon (USU) def. PATE,Colton (ISU) 6-2, 6-2
Doubles competition
1. Bryan Marchant/Jakob Asplund (USU) def. ROYO,Javier/BARRENECHEA,Danel (ISU) 7-5
2. Sven Poslunsy/Amit Maharaj (USU) def. PATE,Dakota/PATE,Colton (ISU) 9-7
3. Alex Thatcher/Nate Ballam (USU) def. BUCKINGHAM,Dan/GROSS,Nate (ISU) 8-6
