Griz travel to Las Vegas for nonconference matches
3/31/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
The University of Montana will hit the road for the first time in over a month when they travel to Las Vegas for mid-week matches against UNLV and Nevada.
The Griz (7-5/6-2) are coming off a pair of huge conference wins at home last weekend. They defeated Sacramento State 4-3 on Friday and followed that up with a 6-1 rout of then undefeated Northern Arizona.
A pair of matches in Boise, Idaho this weekend were cancelled due to scheduling difficulties, so the Griz will just have two matches over the players' spring break.
The Rebels also defeated Weber State 6-1 and Northern Arizona 5-2. Montana fell to Weber State 4-3 in Missoula and defeated Northern Arizona 6-1.
UNLV cracked the top 75 in the latest ITA rankings after their win against Utah State. They are currently ranked No. 75.
The test gets easier, but not by much, on Thursday at 2 p.m. against Nevada. The Wolfpack are currently 6-10, but have played a schedule laden with ranked opponents. Nevada lost 5-2 against Northern Arizona early in the season, but have rebounded against Big Sky opponents with wins against Sacramento State and Weber State.
Weber State currently leads the Big Sky with a 6-1 record. Montana is tied with Idaho in third place at 6-2.
The Griz have a couple of players who are riding hot streaks. Alexandr Rudenco is 9-2 in 2015, and has won the last eight matches he played, all at the No. 5 position. Semion Branzburg and Yannick Schmidl have also been playing well, each winning seven of their last eight matches.
Montana will have just three matches remaining after the Vegas trip, all of which are against Big Sky opponents. They start the final stretch against Idaho on April 11.
