COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The San Francisco men's tennis team battled for four hours before falling to Boise State 4-3 in its first match of the ITA Kick-Off Weekend at the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center.

USF, the No. 2 seed in the region's Kick-Off bracket, moves to 1-3 on the year after the setback at the hands of the Broncos. Meanwhile Boise State, seeded No. 3 in the weekend's event, moves to a 4-0 record in the early-goings of the season.

The Dons fell behind early on the day, dropping the doubles points to Boise State. Heading into singles play, the Dons faced an uphill climb after faltering at the Nos. 1 and 3 positions with straight-set defeats.

Then, freshman Ryan Marker chipped away at the Broncos advantage after defeating Abe Hewko, 2-6, 6-4, 6-2. Fellow frosh Tynan Maguire was the next Don to strike. After dropping his first set to Lew Roskilly and falling behind 4-0 in the second, Maguire withstood the pressure to finish with the 0-6, 7-5, 6-2 win in the No. 5 position.

Junior Woravin Kumthonkittikul's win over Tillman Haynes knotted the score at 3-all and the match hinged on No. 2 pairing of Thomas Takemoto and Kyle Butters. Boise State's Butters took the first, 7-5, but Takemoto evened the match after taking the second 7-6(5). Takemoto went down a break early in the third and could not recover from the deficit, eventually yielding the final point of the day in favor of Boise State.

 "The Broncos deserved the win today by playing better in the clutch moments," noted head coach Pablo Pires de Almeida. "Hats off to them. We need to bounce back for Fresno State tomorrow."

The last time USF and Fresno State sparred was in the semifinal round of the Pacific Invitational last February. In that match, the Dons got the better of the day, escaping with the 4-3 victory before eventually winning the tournament title.

The Dons and the Bulldogs face off in the consolation match of the ITA Kick-Off Weekend on Sunday at 10 a.m. PT. 

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No. 59 Boise State 4, No. 65 USF 3
Jan. 23 | College Station, Texas | George P. Mitchell Tennis Center
 
Doubles | Order of finish: 3, 1
No. 1 – Toby Mitchell/Kyle Butters (BSU) def. Nils Skajaa/Vasco Valverde; 6-3
No. 2 – Lew Roskilly/Brian Foley (BSU) vs. Christian Brockstedt/Ryan Marker (USF); 5-4, abandoned
No. 3 – Pedro Platzeck/Abe Hewko (BSU) def. Thomas Takemoto/Tynan Maguire (USF); 6-2

Singles | Order of finish: 3, 1, 4, 5, 6, 2
No. 1 – Toby Mitchell (BSU) def. Nils Skajaa (USF); 6-1, 6-3
No. 2 – Kyle Butters (BSU) def. Thomas Takemoto (USF); 7-5, 6-7(5), 6-2
No. 3 – Brian Foley (BSU) def. Vasco Valverde (USF); 6-1, 6-3
No. 4 – Ryan Marker (USF) def. Abe Hewko (BSU); 2-6, 6-4, 6-2
No. 5 – Tynan Maguire (USF) def. Lew Roskilly (BSU); 0-6, 7-5, 6-2
No. 6 – Woravin Kumthonkittikul (USF) def. Tillman Haynes (BSU); 6-3, 1-6, 7-5