LOGAN, Utah — After taking a 3-0 lead, a victory seemed all but certain for Utah State men's tennis.
 
Three Bronco victories later and that certainty and accompanying 3-0 lead had melted away into a 3-3 tie. Facing the possibility of a dispiriting loss for the team, junior Javier Ruiz answered the bell, claiming the final two points of a decisive third set to clinch the 4-3 victory for USU over Boise State on Saturday at the Sports Academy & Racquet Club.
 
"We had to fight through a lot of adversity," junior Bodin Zarkovic said. "I'm really proud of Javy. I think this will mean a lot, not just for the team, but for him too. I think this was a great source of confidence for all of us.
 
The Aggies started the match in near-perfect form. Juniors David Cierny and Bodin Zarkovic scored a 6-3 victory at the top position of doubles play to start the match. Ruiz and sophomore Jack Ninteman then emerged victorious in a tiebreak, 7-6 (5), to secure the doubles point for USU. On court three, senior Felipe Acosta and freshman Sergi Micó Fenollar stormed back from a 5-2 deficit to force a tiebreak of their own before the match was suspended at 6-6.
 
In singles play, USU continued its display of dominance as the Aggies took the first set and went up one break in the second set at each of the top four positions. The tides began turning to Boise State, however, as each Broncos managed to return the favor by securing break points of their own to tighten the scores midway through their respective second sets.
 
"It was very tough," Ruiz said. "We won the doubles point and we were up a set and a break on nearly every court, so I even thought that I maybe wasn't going to play. We warmed up and suddenly, it came down to Roko and me and they were both very tight matches and I had to get it done myself. They were very tough, long matches."
 
At the top two matches, Zarkovic and Cierny recovered to again take control. Cierny won, 6-3, 6-3, at the No. 2-spot while Zarkovic recorded a 6-3, 7-5 win at the No. 1s to put the Aggies up 3-0 in the match. Utah State entered tiebreaks at both the third and fourth positions with opportunities to clinch the match but were unable to do so as BSU clawed back to trim USU's margin to 3-2. Another Bronco victory in three sets at the fifth position pulled the teams even at 3-3 and rested the fate of the match to Ruiz at the sixth position.
 
"I'm a very nervous player," Ruiz said. "If anyone comes here, they will notice that. For some reason, I just locked in. I was talking with (USU assistant coach) Hunter (Nicholas). We had a very clear tactic and it just worked out really well at the end. For some reason, I wasn't very nervous today."
 
After an impressive comeback to win the first set in a tiebreak, and after falling in the second, Ruiz and his opponent, BSU's James Van Herzeele, had played to a 4-4 draw in the third set. It was then that the product of Lausanne, Switzerland, held serve and captured a breakpoint for the deciding points of the match.
 
"I think we competed really well," Zarkovic said. "There was a lot of intensity today. We had some chances to maybe finish earlier but we didn't execute well enough. But we're so happy that we got a win. A win is a win and it tastes good any day."
 
The win avenges last season's 4-1 loss to the Broncos which snapped USU's seven-match winning streak in the series. With the victory, the Aggies also catapult themselves into a three-way tie for first place in the Mountain West alongside Nevada and New Mexico.
 
"First of all, we still have a shot to win the conference," Ruiz said, "and that is very important for us. I think we had kind of a curse, we lost seven times, 4-3. Finally, the luck goes our way. It's just really nice that we can still win the conference regular season title."
 
Utah State will wrap up its regular season schedule on the road next weekend as the Aggies are set to take on Air Force on Thursday, April 21, at 2 p.m. (MT) in Colorado Springs, Colorado, before concluding the regular season at New Mexico on Saturday, April 23, at noon (MT) in Albuquerque.
 
Fans can follow USU's men's tennis team on Twitter @USUMensTennis, on Facebook at /UtahStateMensTennis or on Instagram at USUMensTennis.  Aggie fans can also follow the Utah State athletic program on Twitter, @USUAthletics, Facebook at /USUAthletics and on Instagram, @USUAthletics.
 
RESULTS
Utah State 4, Boise State 3
Sports Academy & Racquet Club
Logan, Utah
 
Doubles
1. David Cierny/Bodin Zarkovic (USU) def. Simon Arca Costas/Caden Moortgat (BSU) 6-3
2. Jack Ninteman/Javier Ruiz (USU) def. Jan Lucca Marquardt/Ryo Minakata (BSU) 7-6 (5)
3. Felipe Acosta/Sergi Mico Fenollar (USU) vs. Michael Bott/James Van Herzeele (BSU) 6-6, unfinished
 
Singles
1. Zarkovic (USU) def. Pedro Liborio (BSU) 6-2, 7-5
2. Cierny (USU) def. Arca Costas (BSY) 6-3, 6-3
3. Marquardt (BSU) def. Mico Fenollar (USU) 2-6, 7-6 (13), 6-4
4. Moortgat (BSU) def. Acosta (USU) 1-6, 7-5, 7-6 (5)
5. Minakata (BSU) def. Roko Savin (USU) 4-6, 6-2, 6-3
6. Ruiz (USU) def. Van Herzeele (BSU) 7-6 (2), 3-6, 6-4
 
Match Notes
Utah State: 9-10 (3-1 MW)
Boise State: 13-9 (2-3 MW)
Order of Finish: Doubles (1,2) - Singles (2,1,3,4,5,6)
 
 - USU -