Montana
Weber State
Grizzlies take second-place league finish on Cysneiros clincher
4/17/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
April 17, 2011
The University of Montana men's tennis team played to a 4-3 result vs. the Weber State Wildcats Sunday. With the win, Montana moves to 6-2 in Big Sky play, good for second in the regular season standings and a second-place seed in the April 23-24 Big Sky Championship Tournament.
No. 2 Montana will play Northern Arizona at 10 a.m. Saturday in the tournament semifinals. If the tournament is forced indoors, the Grizzlies and Lumberjacks will play at noon.
The Grizzlies defeated Northern Arizona in a 4-3 home victory Saturday, having benched the Nos. 1 and 2 Grizzly players due to injury for that match.
Big Sky No. 1 Sac State will play No. 4 MSU, also at 10 a.m. Saturday. That match will be played at 8 a.m. if it's inside.
In Sunday's opening doubles play, Montana fell short of the high powered Wildcats, clearly missing senior Josh Smith, who was rested through opening play due to a shoulder strain.
Trailing 0-1 going into singles action, Montana needed to win four of six matches in order to tally a 6-2 overall record and to finish second in the Big Sky's final standings, rather than to share a three-way tie for third at 5-3.
In singles action, the team advantage would shift with every single match. Kicked off by sophomore Mike Facey, UM led off with a win at No. 3 over Caio Poitena 6-3, 6-2. Facey said, "I just kept right on doing as I did yesterday, just making as many balls as I could. My opponent was a really tough player. This was a good win for me, I am really pleased with how I played."
Smith, fresh after a rest during doubles action, took on Landon Barlow at No. 2 singles, winning 6-3, 1-6, 6-0 to put Montana up 2-1.
Carl Kuschke soon fell 2-6, 6-0, 2-6 at No. 1 to tie the team score.
Mikolaj Caruk would come back in a 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 win over Wildcat Ramstromer-Pello, allowing UM to pull ahead once again at 3-2.
Andrew Warren would drop a three-setter of his own 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 to Dave Hintze, once again tying the match at 3-3.
Following a 0-6 loss in his first set, senior David Cysneiros was not looking good to pull in the UM clincher. He rallied to a 7-5 second set and then exchanged broken serves with Oliver Good through the end of the match which terminated in a 6-4 result in Montana's favor.
Cysneiros, a senior was playing his last home match as a Grizzly. Following his win, which occurred on Good's serve and at his third opportunity to win the match, Cysneiros said, "That victory felt unbelievable-especially after that first set where I lost 6-0. Plus, I had faced match point a few times in the second set.
"In my first set, I might have been thinking a little too much about the team score and how this was my last chance to help out at home. In the second set, I have to say that some mental toughness came through on my part, allowing me to really see the match for what it was."
Following the completion of the first set, sophomore Mike Facey joined Cysneiros on the bench and stayed all the way to the end of the epic match. Cysneiros said, "The support of the team was pivotal. Mike was over there, helping me keep my sanity, and the guys were helping me as much as they could. It can be tough to be alone over there at No. 6, and it brought me back to hear those guys."
Cysneiros' final set involved both he and Good taking two break-points apiece. The Grizzly said, "We were both returning the ball really well. I was taking balls as well as I ever have. With that kind of game, our serves were kind of neutralized. It was going to come down to who could be the most aggressive-who could come into the net the best."
In consideration of the Big Sky Championship Tournament set-up, Coach Nord, in his 29th year with UM, said, "I would be happy to play NAU again. Montana State was a really tough match for us and at their place, they are fully capable of defeating Sacramento State in that first round there in Bozeman. It would be better to see them in the championship match, if we are going to have to play them again. Friday was tough on our team."
Tennis Match Results
Weber State University vs Montana
Apr 17, 2011 at Missoula, Mont.
(Peak Racquet Club)
Montana 4, Weber State University 3
Singles competition
1. UNGER, Simon (WSU) def. Kuschke, Carl (UM) 6-2, 0-6, 6-2
2. Smith, Josh (UM) def. BARLOW, Landon (WSU) 6-3, 1-6, 6-0
3. Facey, Michael (UM) def. POITENA, Caio (WSU) 6-3, 6-2
4. Caruk, Mikolaj (UM) def. RAMSTROMER_PELLO, P. (WSU) 6-2, 4-6, 6-4
5. HINTZE, Dave (WSU) def. Warren, Andrew (UM) 6-2, 4-6, 6-2
6. Cysneiros, David (UM) def. GOOD, Oliver (WSU) 0-6, 7-5, 6-4
Doubles competition
1. UNGER, Simon/GOOD, Oliver (WSU) def. KUSCHKE, Carl/CYSNEIROS, David (UM) 8-3
2. BARLOW, Landon/HINTZE, Dave (WSU) def. CARUK, Mikolaj/WARREN, Andrew (UM) 8-6
3. POITENA, Caio/RAMSTROMER_PELLO, P. (WSU) def. DEMAROIS, Ben/Zach Drost (UM) 9-7
Match Notes:
Weber State University 8-14, 4-4 BSC
Montana 12-7, 6-2 BSC
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (3,2,1,4,5,6)
Players Mentioned
