Griz-Cat fever extends to tennis courts this weekend

It's Griz-Cat week on the basketball court on Saturday, but the drama of the Griz-Cat rivalry will also be played out on the tennis court as the Montana men's squad heads to Bozeman for a non-conference tussle with the cross-state rival Bobcats.

The Griz (0-1) are in action for only the second time this year, falling to the Utah Utes of the Pac-12 on Feb. 6, while the Cats (1-5) are six matches deep on the 2016 calendar.

Action from Bobcat-Anderson Tennis Center starts at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 20, with the doubles match up first, followed by six rounds of singles action, capped off by a seventh exhibition match.

Montana head coach Kris Nord will use the Griz/Cat matchup to tweak his lineup in an effort to find his best combinations as Big Sky play approaches, opening with junior Peter Mimnagh-Fleming in the one-spot.

All told, the Griz will line up seven players in Bozeman, with Mimnagh-Fleming kicking the action off, senior Semion Branzburg at two, senior Tomasz Soltyka at three, freshman Alexander Canellopoulos in four, sophomore Victor Casadevall in the five slot, and sophomore Yannick Schmidl at six. Freshman Petar Barcot will line up for an exhibition match aimed at maximizing the playing time for the young Grizzlies.

Coach Nord has used the last two weeks to evaluate his team after their opening match in Salt Lake to prepare for the upcoming Big Sky Conference league season.

"We're really trying to work transition tennis where we spend a lot of time getting to the net and finishing at the net because I think that's something that can set us apart from the other teams, if we get a little bit more offensive.

"We're deep, which is good, and we're a pretty physical team. We're bigger. We're stronger. They've done a really good job in the weight room, so I think they're feeling like they're ready for the season, and hopefully we'll stay healthy."

The Griz had a chance to see the Cats in action in Utah, as MSU faced the Utes in the afternoon matchup following the morning session with Montana.

Last spring, the Grizzlies made it two-for-two in Griz/Cat matchups, taking a 6-1 win in Missoula on March 20, followed up by a 5-2 win on April 18 in Big Sky play.

Grizzly lineup
1) Peter Mimnagh-Fleming
2) Semion Branzburg
3) Tomasz Soltyka
4) Alexander Canellopoulos
5) Victor Casadevall
6) Yannick Schmidl
Ex.) Petar Barcot

Griz-Cat fever extends to tennis courts this weekend

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Players Mentioned

Petar Barcot

Semion Branzburg

Alex Canellopoulos

Victor Casadevall

Peter Mimnagh-Fleming

Yannick Schmidl

Tomasz Soltyka

University of Montana Athletics