Montana
Montana State
Griz complete comeback win in Bozeman
4/18/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
The final match of the season for the Montana men's tennis team may have been its best one yet. In Bozeman against rival Montana State, the Griz won the final five singles matches to complete a comeback 5-2 win.
Coach Kris Nord said that his team's doubles performance was solid, but the Bobcats were able to win at both No. 1 and 2 to take the first point of the match. After another Grizzly loss at No. 1 singles, it looked like Montana may have been down for the count.
"We played great doubles," Nord said. "Our No. 1 doubles played well enough to win, that's the match I sat on. We're getting better, that's what matters. We didn't get the doubles point and then we lost at No. 1 singles, so we started off the match down two with a lot of people here screaming. It was tough."
Montana started to turn things around when junior Semion Branzburg earned a straight-sets victory at No. 2 singles 6-2, 7-6, getting the Griz back within a point.
Then, freshman Victor Casadevall completed one of the best comebacks Montana has seen at No. 4 singles to shift the momentum in favor of the Grizzlies.
"Branzburg got our first win and the real turn-around match in my mind was Casadevall," Nord said. "He was down a set and down 4-1 in the second and 4-1 in the third and made two great comebacks. That really showed a lot of heart on his part."
Montana took the momentum and ran with it, closing the match out by winning the final five points on their way to the 5-2 win. Nord hopes that his team can re-create this performance in a week when they travel to Sacramento for the Big Sky tournament.
"Rudenco and Schmidl, Mimnagh-Fleming, they all played great," Nord said. "I told the guys if we go fight like this in Sacramento I like our chances, I was really, really proud of them."
The win vaulted Montana ahead of Montana State to the third seed in the Big Sky. A full tournament preview will be available early next week. It also put Montana ahead in the Brawl of the Wild Series 8-6.
The Big Sky is cluttered in the middle, and Nord believes that the title is up for the taking in Sacramento. A comeback win against your biggest rival may be the perfect confidence boost required to make a run for the championship.
"It gives us a ton of confidence," Nord said. "For us to come in here in the rivalry and beat them 5-2, I'm just so proud of our guys. We're where we want to be right now and I hope we can keep it going next week."
Montana 5, @ Montana State 2
Bozeman, Montana
April 18, 2015
Singles
1. Andre Napolitano (MSU) def. Tomasz Soltyka (UM) 6-2, 7-6
2. Semion Branzburg (UM) def. Javier Martin Morillas (MSU) 6-2, 7-6
3. Peter Mimnagh-Fleming (UM) def. Niklas Brandes (MSU) 7-6, 6-2
4. Victor Casadevall (UM) def. Kellen Bates (MSU) 4-6, 6-4, 6-4
5. Alexandr Rudenco (UM) def. Harry James (MSU) 6-4, 6-3
6. Yannick Schmidl (UM) def. Dylan Harvala (MSU) 6-4, 6-3
Doubles
1. Napolitano/Bates (MSU) def. Soltyka/Mimnagh-Fleming (UM) 6-4
2. Brandes/Morillas (MSU) def. Branzburg/Schmidl (UM) 6-3
3. Casadevall/Fisher (UM) James/Harvala unf.
Players Mentioned
