Griz men tabbed to finish third in Big Sky
1/14/2016 4:47:00 PM | Men's Tennis
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The Montana Grizzlies men's tennis team starts 2016 where it finished in 2015: in third place in the Big Sky Conference, after drawing the third slot in the league's preseason coaches poll released Wednesday.
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With 115 points and six first-place votes, Weber State takes a narrow lead over Idaho to top the preseason ranking. The Vandals garnered five first-place votes and 112 points.
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Montana follows in third with 95 points, while Sacramento State was close behind with 93 and a single first-place nod. Big Sky tournament runner-up Northern Arizona ranked fifth with 85 points, and Montana State rounded out the top six with 72 points.
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The 2015 Grizzlies finished 8-3 in Big Sky play on the way to the No. 3 seed in the 2015 tournament. Montana fell victim to a determined sixth ranked Northern Arizona, who would move on to defeat top-ranked Weber state in the conference tournament.
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The Griz return two key seniors in Semion Branzburg and Tomasz Soltyka who will be called on by coach Kris Nord to lead a young, but talented team.
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Branzburg was 9-2 in conference play last year and 11-7 overall, being named to his second straight All-Big Sky fist team. Soltyka looks to return to his form that earned him second-team honors in 2014.
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Montana will also look for leadership from junior Peter Mimnagh-Fleming, who has been playing some of the team's consistently best tennis through the fall season, racking up a 9-5 record.
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True freshman Alex Canellopoulos from Athens, Greece, went 5-4 during fall play, and is expected to lead a group of impressive youngsters in both singles and doubles, with his regular partner, sophomore Yannick Schmidl.
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The top six men's and women's teams from the regular season will advance to the 2016 Big Sky Championship, which will be held April 29-May 1 at the Gold River Racquet Club in Gold River, Calif.
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BIG SKY MEN'S PRESEASON POLL
1. Weber State (6)Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 115
2. Idaho (5)Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 112
3. Montana                       95
4. Sacramento State (1) Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 93
5. Northern Arizona              85
6. Montana State                             72
7. Eastern Washington            61
8. Portland State                52
9. Northern Colorado                      38
10. Idaho State                 37
11. North Dakota                20
12. Southern Utah              12
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The Montana Grizzlies men's tennis team starts 2016 where it finished in 2015: in third place in the Big Sky Conference, after drawing the third slot in the league's preseason coaches poll released Wednesday.
Â
With 115 points and six first-place votes, Weber State takes a narrow lead over Idaho to top the preseason ranking. The Vandals garnered five first-place votes and 112 points.
Â
Montana follows in third with 95 points, while Sacramento State was close behind with 93 and a single first-place nod. Big Sky tournament runner-up Northern Arizona ranked fifth with 85 points, and Montana State rounded out the top six with 72 points.
Â
The 2015 Grizzlies finished 8-3 in Big Sky play on the way to the No. 3 seed in the 2015 tournament. Montana fell victim to a determined sixth ranked Northern Arizona, who would move on to defeat top-ranked Weber state in the conference tournament.
Â
The Griz return two key seniors in Semion Branzburg and Tomasz Soltyka who will be called on by coach Kris Nord to lead a young, but talented team.
Â
Branzburg was 9-2 in conference play last year and 11-7 overall, being named to his second straight All-Big Sky fist team. Soltyka looks to return to his form that earned him second-team honors in 2014.
Â
Montana will also look for leadership from junior Peter Mimnagh-Fleming, who has been playing some of the team's consistently best tennis through the fall season, racking up a 9-5 record.
Â
True freshman Alex Canellopoulos from Athens, Greece, went 5-4 during fall play, and is expected to lead a group of impressive youngsters in both singles and doubles, with his regular partner, sophomore Yannick Schmidl.
Â
The top six men's and women's teams from the regular season will advance to the 2016 Big Sky Championship, which will be held April 29-May 1 at the Gold River Racquet Club in Gold River, Calif.
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BIG SKY MEN'S PRESEASON POLL
1. Weber State (6)Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 115
2. Idaho (5)Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 112
3. Montana                       95
4. Sacramento State (1) Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 93
5. Northern Arizona              85
6. Montana State                             72
7. Eastern Washington            61
8. Portland State                52
9. Northern Colorado                      38
10. Idaho State                 37
11. North Dakota                20
12. Southern Utah              12
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