MONTGOMERY, Alabama (3/11/05) – Senior Ikaika Jobe rallied from one set down to win the number four singles match and enableBoise State to claim their first top-20 win of the year as the #55 Broncos upset #18 Notre Dame 4-3 yesterday afternoon at the Blue-Gray Classic in Montgomery, Alabama. The Fighting Irish entered the tournament as the number two seed with a 12-3 overall record. The Broncos, who were 0-3 at the National Indoor Championship in January and 0-3 in that same tournament last year, finally got that big victory they've been looking for. Boise State takes on #24 Tulane in the Blue Grey semifinals today at 12:30 Mountain time. .
The Broncos usually win the doubles point and yesterday's match was no exception. The #7 team in the nation, Thomas Schoeck and Luke Shields defeated Notre Dame’s number one doubles pair of Brent D’Amico and Ryan Keckley 8-3, and Boise State's number two doubles tandem of Ikaika Jobe and Matias Silva also won by a count of 8-5. Boise State's Eric Roberson and Brent Werbeck were leading 6-5 when the match was stopped after the team doubles point was decided.
Notre Dame’s Eric Langenkamp evened the match at 1 when he downed Boise State’s Brent Werbeck 6-4, 6-4 at the number six singles. Boise State regained the lead with a victory at the number five singles when Eric Roberson rallied from one set down to defeat Ryan Keckley 4-6, 6-3, 6-3. Freshman Luke Shields put the Broncos within one victory of winning the match by surviving a hard fought match at number one singles over Notre Dame’s Brent D’Amico 6-4, 4-6, 6-0.
The Fighting Irish then staged a furious rally to even the score at 3-3. Barry King of Notre Dame defeated Matias Silva 7-6, 2-6, 6-1 at the number three, followed by a come-from-behind win by Steve Bass at the number two singles over Boise State’s Thomas Schoeck 4-6, 6-3, 6-3. That set up Ikaika Jobe’s dramatic match at the number four position. Jobe lost the first set 3-6 to Sheeva Parbhu then rallied to win the next two 7-6 and 6-3 securing the elusive upset and biggest victory of the season for Boise State over Notre Dame.
BOXSCORE:
#55 Boise State vs. #18 Notre Dame
Blue-Gray Tennis Classic - March 11, 2005
Lagoon Park Tennis Center
Montgomery, Alabama
Boise State 4, Notre Dame 3
Doubles:
1. Schoeck/Shield, BSU, def. D’Amico/Keckley, UND, 8-3
2. Jobe/Silva, BSU, def. Langenkamp/Parbhu, UND, 8-5
3. Roberson/Werbeck, BSU, vs. Bass/King, UND, 6-5 (DNF)
Singles:
1. Luke Shields, BSU, def. Brent D’Amico, UND, 6-4, 4-6, 6-0
2. Steve Bass, UND, def. Thomas Schoeck, BSU, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3
3. Barry King, UND, def. Matias Silva, BSU, 7-6, 2-6, 6-1
4. Ikaika Jobe, BSU, def. Sheeva Parbhu, UND, 3-6, 7-6, 6-3
5. Eric Roberson, BSU, def. Ryan Keckley, UND, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3
6. Eric Langenkamp, UND, def. Brent Werbeck, BSU, 6-4, 6-4