Griz knock out Bobcats, clinch first-round bye

Sunday, April 20

Missoula, Mont.

2:00 PM

Montana

Montana State

Mimnagh-Fleming won his fourth straight match.

4/20/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis

April 20, 2014

The Montana Grizzlies men's tennis team (11-11, 9-1 Big Sky) cruised past its rival Bobcats on Sunday afternoon, winning 4-0 and earning the No. 2 spot at next weekend's conference tournament in Gold River, Calif.

Near the beginning of the 2014 season, head coach Kris Nord stressed that he wanted his team to play stronger doubles and be more consistent at the Nos. 4, 5 and 6 singles slots. UM did both today, sweeping the doubles point, and winning at all of those singles spots before the match was called off at 4-0.

"It's awesome, it really is," Nord said. "We played great starting at doubles. I felt Eric Braun and Andrew Warren were a big key at No. 3 doubles, they played really well here today. It was great to see."

Seniors Eric Braun and Andrew Warren won their match first, knocking off Kenny Dodd and Martin Morillas 8-6. At No. 1 doubles, Ethan Vaughn and Semion Branzburg (UM) held off Niklas Brandes and Harry James 8-6. Mikolaj Caruk and Tomasz Soltyka were victorious as well, completing the doubles sweep.

"Branzburg and Ethan have been great at No. 1," Nord said. "They work well together and they win a lot of close matches. At No. 2, Mikolaj and Tomasz have gotten a lot better at doubles."

In singles play, Peter Mimnagh-Fleming finished his match first, defeating Kenny Dodd 6-1, 6-1 -- increasing his winning streak to four matches.

"Peter set the tone on the backside, he went way up and stayed up," Nord said. "Same thing with Ethan. I felt that at Nos. 1, 2, and 3 if MSU plays well, then it's a coin-flip and they're hard to beat, but at Nos. 4-6, I felt if we played well we could win those matches."

Soon after the win at No. 6 singles, Vaughn claimed his fourth straight win, besting Harry James in straight sets. Branzburg then clinched the match with his 6-1, 6-2 win at No. 4 singles.

It was the final home match for UM's five seniors -- Mikolaj Caruk, Andrew Warren, Eric Braun, Zach Drost and Ethan Vaughn. Nord was thrilled with the way they finished up their regular season careers.

"I love sending them out on this note, I really do," Nord said. "They've all had a fantastic four year career, and it's bittersweet. But there's still more tennis left, which is exciting."

The Griz will play the highest remaining seed from Friday's quarterfinal round on Saturday afternoon at Gold River, Calif.

"I like our chances," Nord said. "There's six teams that can go win it, we're one of them. We get a bye, but we have to be ready to play Saturday afternoon. It's a tight group, and they compete well."

Montana 4, Montana State 0
April 20, 2014 at Missoula, Mont. (UM Campus)

Singles Results
1. Mikolaj Caruk (UM) vs. Niklas Brandes (MSU) 7-6 (7-5) abandoned
2. Andrew Warren (UM) vs. Markus Schleuter (MSU) 6-4, 2-4 abandoned
3. Tomasz Soltyka (UM) vs. Javier Martin Morillas (MSU) 7-5, 3-3 abandoned
4. Semion Branzburg (UM) def. Diego Campos (MSU) 6-1, 6-2
5. Ethan Vaughn (UM) def. Harry James (MSU) 6-2, 6-1
6. Peter Mimnagh-Fleming (UM) def. Kenny Dodd (MSU) 6-1, 6-1

Doubles Results
1. Ethan Vaughn/Semion Branzburg (UM) def. Niklas Brandes/Harry James (MSU) 8-6
2. Mikolaj Caruk/Soltyka (UM) def. Diego Campos/Markus Schleuter (MSU) 8-3
3. Eric Braun/Andrew Warren (UM) def. Kenny Dodd/Martin Morillas (MSU), 8-6