Montana
Sacramento State
Grizzlies rout defending conference champion Hornets
3/1/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
March 1, 2014
Photo Gallery 
There's only one throne in Big Sky men's tennis -- and the Grizzlies and Hornets are usually the two teams left fighting to claim it.
Saturday afternoon marked another battle in the storied rivalry, and Montana prevailed, winning 5-2 and improving to 2-0 in Big Sky Conference play.
"This is a great win," Head coach Kris Nord said. "It's the best we've played in a situation where we had to play our best."
To start off the duel, the Griz once again pulled out a clutch win at No. 3, sealing the doubles point. Very similar to doubles play against Portland State, Mikolaj Caruk and Tomasz Soltyka finished up first, this time winning 8-6.
Andrew Warren and Semion Branzburg fell victim to Marek Marksoo and Tom Miller at No. 1 doubles, losing 8-5. But Eric Braun and Peter Mimnagh-Fleming improved to 3-0 as partners, knocking off the Hornets 8-2 to seal the doubles point.
"I told Eric he had a great weekend of doubles," Nord said. "It gave us momentum heading into singles for the second day in-a-row."
In singles play, Montana netters won the first three singles matches, going ahead 4-0 and sealing the win before No. 1 singles had finished.
At No. 3, Soltyka won his fifth straight singles match -- once again in straight sets.
"Tomasz played well," Nord said. "It looked a lot closer than 6-3, 6-3, and that's the way Tomasz plays -- he grinds it out and competes real well. It kind of sets the tone for the rest of the team."
Sophomore Semion Branzburg won his fourth straight match, beating Tom Miller 6-1, 7-6 (7-5) at No. 4, moving to 13-4 in 2013-14. Warren won easily at No. 2 singles 6-3, 6-2, finishing his singles match first.
In the preseason, Big Sky Conference coaches voted the Montana Grizzly men's tennis team to finish second for the 2013-14 season. Sacramento State, which has claimed six of the last seven championships, was predicted to win the conference.
The Hornets are driving on the snowy roads Saturday night to take on Bozeman, so flights No. 5 and No. 6 were one set matches, with the first to reach eight points claiming a win. Ethan Vaughn won easily 8-0, but Sacramento State's Joaquin Marquez knocked off Mimnagh-Fleming 8-2.
The teams will most likely see each other again in less than two months, at this year's Big Sky Conference tournament at Gold River, Calif. -- Sac. State's neck of the woods.
"Our guys have been working hard, and this is a pay off for the hard work," Nord added. "We had some frustrating losses early, but is this going to pay big dividends down the road? No. We have to get a lot better, and if and when we play them again they're going to be on their home-court at sea level -- and we better be improved."
The Griz hit the road to play Nevada, Grand Canyon and UC Davis next weekend.
Montana 5, Sacramento State 2
Saturday, March 1 2014 at Missoula, Mont. (Peak Racquet Club)
Doubles Results
1. Marek Marksoo/Tom Miller def. Andrew Warren/Semion Branzburg (UM) 8-5
2. Mikolaj Caruk/Tomasz Soltyka (UM) def. Niranjan Ram/Roy Brandys (SAC) 8-6
3. Eric Braun/Peter Mimnagh-Fleming (UM) def. Oliver Anderson/Ayman Abdulwahab (SAC) 8-2
Singles Results
1. Marek Marksoo (SAC) def. Mikolaj Caruk (UM) 4-6, 6-2, 1-0 (10-8)
2. Andrew Warren (UM) def. Roy Brandys (SAC) 6-1, 6-2
3. Tomasz Soltyka (UM) def. Niranjan Ram (SAC) 6-3, 6-3
4. Semion Branzburg (UM) def. Tom Miller (SAC) 6-2, 7-6 (7-4)
5. Ethan Vaughn (UM) def. Ayman Abdulwahab (SAC) 8-0
6. Joaquin Marquez (SAC) def. Peter Mimnagh-Fleming (UM) 8-2
Match Notes
Sacramento State: 2-7, 0-1 BSC
Montana: 3-3, 2-0 BSC
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (2,4,3,1,5,6)
Players Mentioned
