Montana
Northern Arizona
Griz hand NAU first conference loss of season
3/28/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Kris Nord just keeps proving that beating Montana at home may be the toughest challenge for any Big Sky team. The Grizzlies finished the season 5-1 at home after giving Northern Arizona its first conference loss of the season, 6-1.
The Grizzlies (7-5/6-2 BSC) started off the more spirited team, jumping out quick and winning the top two doubles matches to take the point. They carried that energy right over into doubles, where Montana won the first three matches to clinch the match before the Lumberjacks had scored a point.
Semion Branzburg, who dropped a close match yesterday, started it for Montana, cruising to an easy 6-2, 6-0 win at No. 2 doubles. The rest of the Griz sensed the moment, and Peter Mimnagh-Fleming gave the Grizzly fans in attendance reason to cheer with a 7-6 (7-2), 6-1 at No. 3.
Nord noted how the Branzburg win started to make Northern Arizona sweat.
"Semi has been Semi," Nord said. "He had a tough match yesterday to come off, especially after we clinched, but for him to just give us the momentum after the doubles momentum you could tell NAU knew they were in for a fight, and our guys just kept playing."
The pressure then fell on junior Tomasz Soltyka, who had already won the first set - but was playing a very tight second set. The veteran broke his opponents serve, then held to win in straight sets and claim the match for the Griz.
Nord was thrilled with the performance of his top-three players, who are the only non-freshmen on the team.
"I was really impressed with Tomasz and Pete stepping it up (in doubles) and then doing the same thing in singles," Nord said. "Our older, top kids led the way, and that's not been the case too much this year."
Northern Arizona (7-9/5-1 BSC) finally got on the board quickly after the Griz clinched, as Kester Black defeated Victor Casadevall at No. 4, but it was too late for the `Jacks.
The final two matches played on, even with the final outcome already known. Yannick Shmidl dominated at No. 6, cruising to a 6-2, 6-3 win.
The perfect conclusion to a great day for Montana, Alexandr Rudenco battled back from deficits in both sets to win 7-5, 6-3. The victory pushed Rudenco's winning streak to eight matches, and he is currently 7-1 in conference play at the No. 5 position. Nord noted how difficult it is to play good tennis even after the match has been decided.
"I was equally impressed with Alexandr and Yannick going out after we clinched and they played well, which is what we need," he said. "We need everybody playing well to give us a chance to do what we want to do this year."
The win put Montana in a great spot as the season heads towards the finish line. They improved to 6-2 in conference play, just a half a game behind Montana State for third. Nord was aware of the scores and where his team currently sits.
"I do care, but right now we're just focused on what we have to do," he said. "That's a great weekend of tennis for our guys."
Weber State and Idaho, who entered Saturday tied for second at 5-1, played each other Saturday morning, which means Montana will pass the loser of that match in the standings. Nord knew how important the match was as they close in on the postseason.
"That's enormous," he said. "It get's us a step closer to Big Sky, more importantly one doubles actually started playing the way they can play, the way they played last fall. "
Montana will have a week of non-conference matches over the players spring break from school before returning to the grind of conference play. This weekend may have been as good as it gets for the Griz, who defeated the first and second ranked teams in the conference.
"That's a five-star weekend for our guys," Nord said. "They played two tough matches, one indoor, one outside against two tough teams, and I'm going to go home with a smile on my face."
Montana 6, Northern Arizona 1
PEAK Health and Wellness Center, Missoula, Montana
March 28, 2015
Singles
1. Tomasz Soltyka (UM) def. Jordan Gobatie (NAU) 6-3, 6-4
2. Semion Branzburg (UM) def. Eden Peleg (NAU)6-2, 6-0
3. Peter Mimnagh-Fleming (UM) def. Alexandre Locci (NAU) 7-6 (7-2), 6-1
4. Kester Black (NAU) def. Victor Casadevall (UM) 7-6 (7-5), 6-1
5. Alexandr Rudenco (UM) def. Felix Schumann (NAU) 6-4, 6-3
6. Yannick Schmidl (UM) def. Adi Zilberstein (NAU) 6-2, 6-3
Doubles
1. Soltyka/Mimnagh-Fleming (UM) def. Gobatie/Locci(NAU) 6-4
2. Branzburg/Schmidl (UM) def. Zilberstein/Black (NAU)
3. Schumann/Peleg (NAU) led Zach Fisher/Casadevall (UM) 5-4 (unf.)
Order of Finish
Singles (2,3,1,4,5,6)
Doubles (2,1,3)
Players Mentioned
