Griz to finish dual matches
4/15/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
The University of Montana men???s tennis team will wrap up the regular season this weekend when the Grizzlies travel to Bozeman, Mont., to take on Idaho State on Saturday, April 18, at 2:00 p.m. and Montana State on Sunday, April 19, at 11:00 a.m.
The top six teams from regular-season standings will be advancing to the Big Sky Conference championships held April 24-26. It is the third straight year that the tournament will be held at the Gold River Racquet Club in Gold River, Calif.
Sacramento State (16-6, 7-0) has already claimed the No. 1 seed with an undefeated BSC dual match season thus far. Eastern Washington (15-8, 6-2) has earned the No. 2 seed.
The men???s quarterfinals will be held on Friday morning with No. 6 playing No. 3 while No. 4 takes on No. 5. The No. 1 Hornets will play the lowest remaining seed and the No. 2 Eagles will play the highest remaining seed on Saturday morning.
The Grizzlies have solidified their slot at the conference championships next week. They currently hold a 9-7 record, 3-3 in BSC play.
Northern Arizona (7-16, 5-3), Montana State (11-9, 3-2) and Weber State (9-10, 5-3) have also each clinched berths to the tournament next week. Seedings for Nos. 3 through 6 will not be decided until after this weekend???s matches. Portland State, Northern Colorado, and Idaho State have been eliminated from postseason play. While the Lumberjacks and the Wildcats have finished their regular seasons, the Bobcats will take on three BSC teams this weekend and next week, the Grizzlies, two.
Head coach Kris Nord said he was feeling a little relaxed knowing they already have an entry to the championship next week. ???I???m a little relaxed because it wasn???t an automatic this year but I would love to keep playing well and the focus is to go play well against Idaho State and Montana State which will be a tough match. Montana State will have a lot of people out there for the Cat-Griz tennis and I???m curious to see how our younger players respond to that.
???Our doubles has been really good. We were very close against Weber in winning the doubles point and I???m happy with how we are playing. I think we hit the wall in terms of mental patience and being a little tired physically after that long road trip but I think we are over that now.???
The Bengals have lost every dual match this spring and hold a 0-15 record, 0-5 in Big Sky matches.
???Idaho State will be a nice match to get under the belt first and I hope we are outdoors because it would be great to have one match outside prior to facing the Bobcats on Sunday,??? Nord said.
Montana State is vying for an improved BSC record this weekend as well. The Bobcats will face Idaho State on Saturday before taking on the Grizzlies on Sunday. They will wrap up their 2009 regular season with a match next Wednesday against No. 1 seed Sacramento State.
?????We are absolutely looking forward to the championship next week and getting in the sun and playing outside,??? Nord said enthusiastically. ???We are looking for a couple wins right now for a streak before going into the championship."
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