Spring Break
Patton's army marches into NCAA tournament
TATE CASTLETON
Sports Writer
Issue date: 5/3/07 Section: Sports
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May 11, at noon.
The Broncos will face No. 41 Texas A&M University - Corpus Christi at Austin, Texas in the opening round. The Islanders finished the season 14-5 and received an automatic bid after winning the Southland Conference.
“These guys are a very good team and we’re excited to play them,” Patton said.
Corpus Christi has won eight of its last nine matches coming into the tournament with its only loss during that span coming to No. 11 Texas on the road.
“We will not underestimate any team in this tournament,” Patton said. “But we will come out to play and play hard every match. You can count on that.”
This will be the fourth NCAA appearance in the last five seasons for Boise State. The men reached the second round in each appearance. But for Patton things are a little different this time around.
“We are flying high right now and have such high expectations for ourselves that we can hardly wait to get out there and play,” Patton said.
Last weekend BSU capped off the regular season with a 4-0 sweep of Western Athletic Conference rival Fresno State in the conference final to secure its spot in the postseason. The Broncos finished 29-5 on the season, including an impressive 15-5 record against nationally-ranked opponents. Each of the Broncos five losses, however, has come at the hands of teams ranked in the top 20.
“We realize this will not be easy,” Patton said. “But we’re on a mission and that mission is to bring home a national championship to Boise State.”
In order for the Broncos to bring home the tournament’s most coveted hardware BSU must first get past some of the nation’s best tennis talent.
“We feel good about our bracket and we’re confident we can make some noise,” Patton said. “We’ll have to beat some teams we’ve met before, but that’s what it’s all about and we’re excited for the chance.”
Should the Broncos advance past the Islanders they will likely meet up with No. 54 Navy (15-10).
“We don’t want to look ahead, but we know Texas will likely advance through the bracket and we would love another shot at them,” Patton said. “We didn’t play as well as we would have liked and so we’re ready to play better.”
A national title won’t come easy for BSU. If the team manages to work past Corpus Christi and Navy, a trip to the Elite Eight would be on the line with that anticipated match-up with the Longhorns. Texas is 18-8 on the season and beat the Broncos back on Feb. 17 in Chicago, 4-1, at the National Team Indoor Championships.
Luckily for the Broncos, they are now healthier and are playing some of their best tennis at just the right time. Junior Luke Shields was just named the WAC Player of the Year and Patton was named WAC Coach of the Year for the third consecutive time and the ninth time in the past 11 seasons.
The Broncos will also have Kean Feeder back after being absent for much of the season due to injury. Sophomore Clancy Shields has been playing through injuries for months now, but Patton is optimistic.
“You could cut off both Clancy’s legs and one arm and he would still come out and run around and play on stumps,” Patton said. “That’s how much fire is in this kid and that’s what we’ll take with us.”
BSU will begin its quest for a national title with the first and second round match-ups scheduled for May 11-12 in Austin, Texas. The finals matches will be held May 17-28 at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex in Athens, Ga.
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