Montana
Sacramento State
Griz fall to Sacramento State in championship 4-1
4/28/2013 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
April 28, 2013
For the second straight season the Montana men's tennis team advanced to the Big Sky Championship against Sacramento State and for the second straight season the Griz came up short. This season it was a 4-1 defeat Sunday Morning at the Gold River Racquet Club in Gold River, Calif.
The Grizzlies took early leads in all the matches of the doubles competition but eventually the Hornets prevailed. At no. 3 Henrik Raag and Tom Miller topped Semion Branzburg and Eric Braun 8-5. In the No. 2 match Ethan Vaughn and Andrew Warren lost a hard-fought match to Roy Brandys and Sean Kolar 8-6.
The No. 1 match was halted with Mikolaj Caruk and Michael Facey winning 6-5.
"We had a very good shot at doubles," coach Kris Nord said. "Semion and Eric missed an opportunity to take a big lead at No. 3, if they take that game it might have been a different story. It was right in our hands but we couldn't capitalize."
In singles action Sacramento State built on their doubles wins with quick wins at the top of the order. Marek Marksoo topped Caruk 6-0, 6-0. At No. 2 Aliaksandr Malko beat Warren 6-2, 6-3.
The two wins gave the Hornets a 3-0 which meant the Griz were going to need to win out to claim the victory.
Branzburg was well on the way to the victory at No. 5 when his opponent Niranjan Ram retired in the second set with back camps. With the point the Griz cut the lead to 3-1.
The Sac State victory was sealed at No. 4 when Kolar beat Vaughn 6-4, 6-4 which gave the Hornets the 4-1 advantage and the win.
At No. 3 Facey won the first set 7-5 and was in a tightly-contested second set when the victory was sealed. At No. 6 there was a similar story, Zach Drost was in the third set when the No. 4 match finished.
Fatigue and heat were a big factor in the match. It was a third match for the Griz in three days in 90 degrees.
"It seemed like everyone was up a set in the singles," Nord said. "We got dominated at No. 1 and No. 2 but beyond that everyone was playing very well, then we ran out of gas and you could see the heat getting to the guys."
For the second straight season the Griz fell just short of a championship but Nord is happy with the way his team overcame a roller-coaster season to get back into the championship match.
"I am very pleased with what these guys accomplished this season," Nord said. "With the injuries and the losses on the roster I honestly am overwhelmed with where we ended up. These guys fought hard over the weekend and they showed what they were made of."
Montana vs Sacramento State (Apr 28, 2013)
Sacramento State 4, Montana 1
Apr 28, 2013 at Gold River, Calif. (Gold River Racquet Club)
| Singles competition |
| 1. MARKSOO, Marek (SAC) def. Caruk, Mikolaj (UM) 6-0, 6-0 |
| 2. MALKO, Aliaksandr (SAC) def. Warren, Andrew (UM) 6-2, 6-3 |
| 3. BRANDYS, Roy (SAC) vs. Facey, Michael (UM) 5-7, 5-4, unfinished |
| 4. KOLAR, Sean (SAC) def. Vaughn, Ethan (UM) 6-4, 6-4 |
| 5. Branzburg, Semion (UM) def. RAM, Niranjan (SAC) 7-5, 4-3, retired |
| 6. MILLER, Tom (SAC) vs. Drost, Zach (UM) 4-6, 6-2, 3-0, unfinished |
| Doubles competition |
| 1. MALKO, Aliaksandr/MARKSOO, Marek (SAC) vs. CARUK, Mikolaj/FACEY, Michael (UM) 6-5, unfinished |
| 2. BRANDYS, Roy/KOLAR, Sean (SAC) def. VAUGHN, Ethan/WARREN, Andrew (UM) 8-6 |
| 3. MILLER, Tom/RAAG, Henrik (SAC) def. BRANZBURG, Semion/BRAUN, Eric (UM) 8-5 |
| Match Notes |
| Montana 11-8 |
| Sacramento State 17-12 |
| Order of finish: Doubles (3,2); Singles (1,2,5,4) |
| 2013 Big Sky Conference Championship -- championship match |
Players Mentioned
