BOISE, Idaho – The Idaho State men's tennis team delivered one of its biggest weekends of the season at the Boise State Spring Invitational, finishing 2–1 across three matches and earning a 4–3 victory over No. 65 Gonzaga in the third-place match, the first ranked win for Idaho State under Head Coach, Oliver Good. The Bengals opened the event with a 4–2 win over Montana before falling to No. 66 Boise State in the semifinal, then closed the tournament with the ranked win over Gonzaga.
"It was a great weekend of matches where we competed really well as a team," said head coach Oliver Good. "To get wins against our reigning conference champions and a nationally ranked opponent shows what we are capable of. We've got some areas we need to improve before playing at Idaho next week so we'll get to work to ensure we are ready to go."
Idaho State vs. Montana
(Opening Round – Boise, Idaho)
Doubles
Montana secured the doubles point with wins on courts two and three, putting the Bengals behind early in the dual.
-
No. 1 Doubles: Valent De Pellegrin / Luka Vujacic were tied with Duncan McCall / Baltaz Wiger-Nordas before the match was left unfinished, 4–4.
-
No. 2 Doubles: Sep de Visser / Lewie Bouman fell to Tom Bittner / Eivind Tandberg, 2–6.
-
No. 3 Doubles: Tyler Dalos / Rafael Maya fell to Johnny Wilkinson / Matt Upton, 4–6.
Singles
Idaho State responded with a strong singles performance, winning four matches across the lineup to rally past Montana and advance in the bracket.
-
No. 1 Singles: Valent De Pellegrin fell to Tom Bittner, 3–6, 6–3, 4–6.
-
No. 2 Singles: Sep de Visser defeated Baltaz Wiger-Nordas, 6–7, 7–5, 7–6.
-
No. 3 Singles: Sam Wensley defeated Duncan McCall, 7–5, 6–4.
-
No. 4 Singles: Hayden Ciguenza trailed Matt Upton before the match was left unfinished, 6–7, 3–7, 7–5, 3–2.
-
No. 5 Singles: Luka Vujacic defeated Joseph Townes, 6–2, 6–1.
-
No. 6 Singles: Rafael Maya defeated Johnny Wilkinson, 2–6, 7–5, 6–4.
Idaho State at No. 66 Boise State
(Semifinal – Boise, Idaho)
Doubles
Boise State captured the doubles point with wins on courts one and three to take the early lead in the semifinal matchup.
-
No. 1 Doubles: Valent De Pellegrin / Jack Calleri fell to Carson Baker / Avery Tallakson, 4–6.
-
No. 2 Doubles: Sep de Visser / Hayden Ciguenza trailed Stewart Aronson / Filip Soderqvist before the match was left unfinished, 3–5.
-
No. 3 Doubles: Tyler Dalos / Rafael Maya fell to Taiyo Kurata / Julius Seifert, 3–6.
Singles
Boise State clinched the dual with three singles victories, closing the match before the remaining courts could finish.
-
No. 1 Singles: Valent De Pellegrin trailed Avery Tallakson before the match was left unfinished, 4–6, 5–4.
-
No. 2 Singles: Sam Wensley trailed Carson Baker before the match was left unfinished, 3–6, 4–2.
-
No. 3 Singles: Luka Vujacic fell to Filip Soderqvist, 2–6, 3–6.
-
No. 4 Singles: Lewie Bouman was trailing Stewart Aronson before the match was left unfinished, 6–7, 5–7, 2–2.
-
No. 5 Singles: Tyler Dalos fell to Lukas Velik, 1–6, 1–6.
-
No. 6 Singles: Jack Calleri fell to Taiyo Kurata, 3–6, 1–6.
Idaho State vs. No. 65 Gonzaga
(Third Place Match – Boise, Idaho)
Doubles
Gonzaga took the early advantage by securing the doubles point with wins on courts one and two.
-
No. 1 Doubles: Valent De Pellegrin / Luka Vujacic fell to Giovanni Branchetti / Jay Fairclough, 1–6.
-
No. 2 Doubles: Jack Calleri / Hayden Ciguenza fell to Oscar Rashed / Nicholas Reeves, 3–6.
-
No. 3 Doubles: Lewie Bouman / Sam Wensley were tied with Gus Krauel / Diego Herrera before the match was left unfinished, 4–4.
Singles
Idaho State delivered its biggest performance of the season in singles play, winning four courts to secure a dramatic 4–3 upset victory over the nationally ranked Bulldogs.
-
No. 1 Singles: Valent De Pellegrin defeated Giovanni Branchetti, 6–2, 6–3.
-
No. 2 Singles: Sep de Visser defeated Jay Fairclough, 6–3, 6–4.
-
No. 3 Singles: Sam Wensley fell to Oscar Rashed, 6–2, 4–6, 3–6.
-
No. 4 Singles: Hayden Ciguenza defeated Nicholas Reeves, 4–6, 7–6, 6–3.
-
No. 5 Singles: Rafael Maya fell to Tom Dunlop, 3–6, 2–6.
-
No. 6 Singles: Lewie Bouman defeated Diego Herrera, 6–4, 1–6, 7–6.
Up Next
Idaho State returns to Big Sky Conference play next week as the Bengals travel to face Idaho in Moscow on Saturday, March 14th, before going to Lewiston to take on Lewis-Clark State the following day, Saturday, March 15th.
