Grizzly tennis looking to drop Vandals in Cheney
9/22/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
The University of Montana men???s tennis team will play Friday in its first collegiate-only tournament of the fall season. The Eastern Washington/Gonzaga Classic will offer Montana athletes matches with the best that the region has to offer, including players from University of Idaho, Gonzaga, and Portland State.
In the 2009 event, three Griz players progressed to the round of sixteen from the 64-competitor main draw, including junior Carl Kuschke and sophomore Mike Facey from the present UM roster.
Last fall???s doubles action at the Eagle/Bulldog event saw Kuschke proceed to the championship match while playing with then senior Mikolaj Borkowski.
In nearly all Grizzly pursuits in the 2009 event, Montana players found a UI athlete at the end of their respective runs. Idaho will return its top five players again this year.
Montana has seen some collegiate success of its own, with Kuschke finishing as the top collegiate athlete in singles and doubles, along with David Cysneiros, at the Montana State Open.?? Having been twice defeated for title honors by non-collegiate competitors, the Grizzlies will be looking to show what they have against the best of the region.
UM coach Kris Nord said, ???With a roster of 12 guys, we are still trying to figure out who is going to be right for traveling with the team for remaining fall tournaments and in the spring.???
The problem that the 29th year coach faces is that he is happy with all twelve of his athletes. ??Nord said, ???We had some really exciting days in Bozeman, as guys that were relatively broken-down performed well. We had some impressive wins over MSU???s top guys by our freshmen, (Zach) Drost and (Eric) Braun. The thing to remember is that was just one tournament, and we are looking to see who can stay strong for an entire event, including our veterans. I???m more interested to see who is still strong this weekend.???
The Montana team is preparing for a spring dual schedule that stretches from January 28, with Idaho State, through the Big Sky Championship April 24, sometimes playing three matches per week. With minor injuries having plagued a portion of his roster last spring, Coach Nord will be looking to move forward with only the best-conditioned team.
Nord said, ???We are going hard through this entire month of September. These guys have been lifting, hard, running hard and hitting hard. With a few more weeks of good work under their belts, it is important to evaluate how fit your players are at this time.???
Nord is also using the opportunity to again mix his doubles teams, in search of the perfect three combinations to carry his squad through the spring.
The team will play in matches Friday through Sunday, dropping from main draws into a consolation feed following a single loss. ??
