Montana
Idaho State
Griz top Bengals in regular-season finale
4/20/2013 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
April 20, 2013
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Behind the strong play of senior Mike Facey, the Griz men's tennis team closed out the regular season with a bang when it defeated Idaho State 5-2 Saturday morning at the Peak Racquet Club in Missoula.
The Bengals (13-4, 8-1 BSC) came into the match with the only undefeated mark in the Big Sky but left with a blemish on therecord.
The Grizzlies (9-7, 8-2 BSC) came into the match short-handed without the services of juniors Mikolaj Caruk and Zach Drost. There were just six roster players available for the match.
Even with a short roster Griz coach Kris Nord knew what a win over the Bengals would mean to his team.
"We talked about trying to get some momentum going into the tournament," Nord said. "We knew it was going to be tough without Miko and Drost but we came out and beat the top team in the conference with just six healthy guys. I can't think of a more perfect momentum builder going to."
The Griz started the match with a hard-fought doubles sweep. Facey and fellow senior Cody Blum teamed up on senior day to play one final doubles match. They played very well at No. 2 and won an 8-4 match over Jamey Swiggart and Christian Marian.
The other two matches were much closer affairs. At No. 3 Semion Branzburg and Eric Braun came back from a 5-2 deficit to win 9-7. At No. 1 Andrew Warren and Ethan Vaughn trailed Andres Coello and Krzysztof Stempien 7-4 before eventually winning 9-8 (7-3).
"It was a lot of fun, everyone up and down the line played very well," Nord said. "In doubles our guys fought read hard to get the point and the first four spots in singles all played some of their best tennis of the season."
The Griz scored two quick wins to push their lead to 3-0. In Caruk's absents Warren stepped into the No. 1 and played very well. He topped Marian 6-2, 6-3. At No. 3 Vaughn topped Stempien 6-4, 6-4.
It came down to Facey, the senior, to clinch the victory for the Griz in his final regular season match. After winning the first set over Norman Facey dropped the second. He rebounded in the third set to get the 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 win putting Montana up 4-0.
"Mike was the difference in us beating this team today," Nord said "For him to clinch the match was perfect. He has had an amazing career but he has struggled over the last month. After that I think his confidence is back, that is the best I have seen him play all year."
Branzburg finished just minutes after Facey. After dropping the first set he recovered and topped Gross 5-7, 6-3, 6-3 at No. 4.
With the team victory in hand just as their matches began Bruan and Blum both lost their matches. At No. 5 Braun lost 6-2, 6-1 to Swiggart. At No. 6 Blum lost 6-0, 6-3 to Austin Miller.
With the Win the Grizzlies kept their hopes alive for the third spot in the conference tournament. The Bengals can still clinch the top spot in the bracket with a win tomorrow in Bozeman but a loss drops them into a tie with the Grizzlies for third. In that case the Griz would get the third seed because of their head-to-head win over the Bengals.
Facey was excited to get the win today but the senior isn't thinking about life after college yet. He is still focused on the conference tournament next weekend.
"It was certainly a great momentum builder but it also helps everyone realize how level the playing field really is in this conference," Facey said. "One through six every team in the conference tournament could win it and we need to be ready to play."
Montana 5, Idaho State 2
April 20, 2013 at Missoula, Mont. (Peak Racquet Club)
Singles Results
No. 1 Warren, Andrew (UM) def. MARIAN, Christian (ISU) 6-2, 6-3
No. 2 Facey, Michael (UM) def. NORMAN, Charles (ISU) 6-4, 3-6, 6-3
No. 3 Vaughn, Ethan (UM) def. STEMPIEN, Krzysztof (ISU) 6-4, 6-4
No. 4 Branzburg, Semion (UM) def. GROSS, Nate (ISU) 5-7, 6-3, 6-3
No. 5 SWIGGART, Jamey (ISU) def. Braun, Eric (UM) 6-2, 6-1
No. 6 MILLER, Austin (ISU) def. Blum, Cody (UM) 6-0, 6-3
Doubles Results
No. 1 WARREN, Andrew/ Vaughn, Ethan (UM) def. NORMAN, Charles/GROSS, Nate (ISU) 9-8 (7-3)
No. 2 FACEY, Michael/ Blum, Cody (UM) def. SWIGGART, Jamey/MARIAN, Christian (ISU) 8-4
No. 3 BRANZBURG, Semion/ BRUAN, Eric (UM) def. STEMPIEN, Krzysztof/COELLO, Andres 9-7
Match Notes
Montana 9-7, 8-2
Idaho State 13-4, 8-1
Order of Finish: Singles (1,3,2,4,5,6); Doubles (2,3,1)
Players Mentioned
