Montana
Eastern Washington
Griz top Eastern Washington 4-3 in road tilt
4/12/2013 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
April 12, 2013
The Griz men's tennis team took another step towards a second-consecutive Big Sky title with a 4-3 road win over Eastern Washington Friday afternoon.
Montana (8-6, 7-1 BSC) moved into a tie with Sunday's opponent Montana State at third place in the Big Sky Standings behind Idaho State (11-3, 7-0 BSC) and Sacramento State (14-12, 9-1 BSC).
The Eagles (8-12, 4-5 BSC) remain in sixth place and are still in the race for a spot in the six-team championship.
The Griz started the match with a poor doubles performance. The No. 1 team of Mikolaj Caruk and Michael Facey lost 8-3 to Joseph Cohen and Kyle Koetje. At No. 3 Cody Blum and Eric Braunlost 8-2 to Thomas Aranuiz and Edaurdo Bringold.
Ethan Vaughn and Andrew Warrenscored the lone doubles win at No. 2 with an 8-3 win over Aaron Lince and Arturo Carpio.
"Vaughn and Warren played great in both doubles and singles," Nord said. "They have been very consistent lately and they showed it again today.
Trailing 0-1 going into singles the Griz needed a boost to get back into the match. Semion Branzburg and Zach Drostwere there to answer the call.
Branzburg scored a quick 6-1, 6-1 win over Stefan Farrar at No. 5 to knot the match at 1-1.
Drost followed suit with a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Carpio at No. 6 to give the Griz a 2-1 lead.
"We didn't play great in doubles," Nord said. "A bad loss like that in doubles makes it an uphill battle for singles. Semion and Zach got quick wins in singles that gave us a boost through the rest of the singles matches."
Reigning Big Sky Player of the Week Warren scored a 6-4, 6-2 win over Aranguiz at No. 2 to give the Griz a 3-1 advantage.
Cohen again showed why he is undefeated in Big Sky play when he topped Caruk 4-6, 6-0, 6-0 at No. 1. The win cut the Griz lead to 3-2.
Vaughn clinched the Griz victory with a 6-2, 6-7, 6-1 win over Bringold at No. 4.
"I love the fight in the guys after a poor doubles performance," Nord said. "In a long season the teams that end up on top are the ones that fight through some adversity and finish off tough wins."
Koetje defeated Facey in the final match to finish.
Montana returns home Friday evening before heading to Bozeman Saturday ahead of Sunday's match with the bobcats.
The Griz won a non-conference tilt with MSU on March 3. The Griz will hope to repeat the outcome Sunday in front of a hostile crowd.
A win Sunday will give the Griz the opportunity to claim a share of the Big Sky title with a win over Idaho State April 20.
Montana 4, Eastern Washington 3
Apr 12, 2013 at Cheney, Wash. (EWU Outdoor Tennis Courts)
| Singles competition |
| 1. COHEN, Joseph (EWUM) def. Caruk, Mikolaj (UM) 4-6, 6-0, 6-0 |
| 2. Warren, Andrew (UM) def. ARANGUIZ, Tomas (EWUM) 6-4, 6-2 |
| 3. KOETJE, Kyle (EWUM) def. Facey, Michael (UM) 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 |
| 4. Vaughn, Ethan (UM) def. BRINGOLD, Eduardo (EWUM) 6-2, 6-7, 6-1 |
| 5. Branzburg, Semion (UM) def. FARRAR, Stefan (EWUM) 6-1, 6-1 |
| 6. Drost, Zach (UM) def. CARPIO, Arturo (EWUM) 6-2, 6-1 |
| Doubles competition |
| 1. COHEN, Joseph/KOETJE, Kyle (EWUM) def. FACEY, Michael/CARUK, Mikolaj (UM) 8-3 |
| 2. WARREN, Andrew/VAUGHN, Ethan (UM) def. LINCE, Aaron/CARPIO, Arturo (EWUM) 8-3 |
| 3. BRINGOLD, Eduardo/ARANGUIZ, Tomas (EWUM) def. BLUM, Cody/BRAUN, Eric (UM) 8-2 |
| Match Notes |
| Montana 8-6, 7-1 Big Sky, |
| Eastern Washington 8-12, 4-5 Big Sky |
| Doubles Order of Finish: 3,2,1 |
| Singles Order of Finish: 5,6,2,1,4,3 |
Players Mentioned
