Warren, Vaughn and Branzburg honored by Big Sky
5/3/2013 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
May 3, 2013
Sports are a part of life where ego reigns supreme. You will see it in an NFL touchdown dance and in the guy who is way too competitive in a pickup basketball game. Rarely will you find a humble, quiet, star that leads by example. The San Antonio Spur's Tim Duncan comes to mind but for every athlete like him there are a hundred closer to Terrell Owens.
Humble leaders are hard to find, but Griz tennis coach Kris Nord has one in junior Andrew Warrenand the rest of the Big Sky Conference knows it.
Warren was named to the 2013 Big Sky All-Conference first-team by a vote of the coaches.
"The fact that the rest of the conference recognizes how great Andrew played this year is such an honor," Nord said. "He is very quiet and is maybe too nice, but when he is on the court he battles and that is what makes him such an amazing asset to our team."
Even as the lone Griz that brought home first team honors Warren deflected the praise to his teammates, specifically senior Michael Facey.
"Mike was the backbone of this team, without him we wouldn't have been the team we were this season," Warren said. "He was such an amazing leader he pushed me to be better, but he also made coming to practice every day fun."
Warren had impressive 7-3 record in Big Sky play this season including 5-1 at No. 2. He also teamed with junior Ethan Vaughnfor a perfect 8-0 record in doubles play during the conference slate.
Vaughn's play didn't go unrecognized, for the second consecutive season he was recognized by the Big Sky. He can add a second-team all-conference award the first-team nod he received in 2012.
Vaughn was very consistent in the middle of the lineup for Montana he finished Big Sky play with an 8-2 record tied for the best record on the Griz roster.
"There are no guarantees in sports but when Ethan is playing in the middle of the lineup he is very close to automatic," Nord said. "He is a very smart player and this year I pushed him to be more aggressive. When he started stepping into his hitting I think he started to show how great of a tennis player he can be."
Warren attributes their doubles success to Vaughn's competitiveness.
"It is a lot of fun playing with Ethan," Warren said. "I am a lot more reserved than he is and I get down on myself. Ethan has a lot of fire and he pushes me to look to the next point. He keeps me going."
The other player with an 8-2 singles record on the year was freshman Semion Branzburg. He played most of the season at the No. 5 spot and was the lone Griz to best his opponent in the Big Sky title match against Sacramento State. He was named Honorable mention by the Big Sky.
"Semion played very consistent tennis for a freshman," Nord said. "The sky is the limit for him if he puts in the work. His best tennis is ahead of him.
The past two seasons have been two of the most successful in Montana history and both Nord and Warren think that next season has the potential to be the year that the Griz play in the first NCAA regional in school history.
"This season we struggled with injuries and lost scholarship players and we were very close to winning the conference title," Nord said. "We have the pieces of a championship team we need to put in the work to make sure they are in the right places."
"It is so hard to lose the title match to Sacramento State two years in a row," Warren said. "I feel like we have been the underdog. I don't think we are that anymore, now we need to go prove it."
| 2013 Men's Tennis All-Conference Teams | |||
| First Team |
|||
| Player |
School |
Year | Hometown |
| Joseph Cohen (co-MVP) | Eastern Washington | So. | London, England |
| $Marek Marksoo (co-MVP) | Sacramento State | So. | Tallinn, Estonia |
| Charles Norman | Idaho State | Sr. | Durban, South Africa |
| Andrew Warren | Montana | Sr. | Idaho Falls, Idaho |
| $Niklas Brandes | Montana State | So. | Nordenham, Germany |
| Brandon Lupo | Northern Colorado | Sr. | Broomfield, Colo. |
| Sean Kolar | Sacramento State | So. | Loomis, Calif. |
| Jakub Gewert | Weber State | Fr. | Gnlezno, Poland |
| $Two-Time First Team Selection | |||
| Second Team | |||
| Player |
School |
Year |
Hometown |
| Jamey Swiggart | Idaho State | Fr. | Steamboat, Colo. |
| Ethan Vaughn | Montana | Jr. | Spokane, Wash. |
| Diego Campos | Montana State | Jr. | Cuernavaca, Mexico |
| Aliaksandr Malko | Sacramento State | Sr. | Minks, Belarus |
| Honorable Mention | |||
| Player |
School | Year | Hometown |
| Semion Branzburg | Montana | Fr. | Ashdod, Israel |
| Dominic Bermudez | Northern Arizona | Jr. | Tucson, Arizona |
| Ben Gendron | Northern Colorado | So. | Flower Mound, Texas |
| Antoine Bechman | Portland State | Jr. | Strasbourg, France |
| Tom Miller | Sacramento State | So. | Great Missenden, England |
| Roy Brandys | Sacramento State | So. | Radom, Poland |
| Todd Fought | Weber State | Fr. | West Vancouver, B.C. |
Players Mentioned
