Nord adds Tejerina to Griz tennis lineup

Montana men's tennis head coach Kris Nord has finalized his 2016-17 team roster with the addition of Ignacio "Nacho" Tejerina, a junior transfer from Union College, an NAIA school in Barbourville, Ky.

At Union, Tejerina, a native of Madrid, Spain, was an All-Appalachian Athletic Conference performer who ran through the 2016 season undefeated (7-0) in conference play and went 14-2 overall at the No. 1 singles spot.

"I don't care if you're D-I, D-II, NAIA, if you're playing at one, you're playing good competition," said Nord. "He's a lefty, which I like. He's got good ground strokes. He's got a very polished game all around. He comes in as a good solid player, and we'll need him to step up and play right away for us."

The marketing and management double major was also named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District II Men's At-Large Team, only the second player in Union history to earn that distinction. He was also named to the Champions of Character Team, made up of student-athletes who best represent the five core values of the NAIA Champions of Character program: respect, integrity, responsibility, servant leadership and sportsmanship.

With two of Montana's top performers in seniors Semion Branzburg and Tomasz Soltyka graduated from last year's 9-8 squad that finished tied for third in the Big Sky, Nord will look to Tejerina to contribute straight away, and Tejerina wouldn't have it any other way.

"I always want to improve and find better things. I think Montana is a big step forward and a big change from Kentucky," he says.

"I'm a fighter. I'm not too big, so I don't have a lot of power, but I'm one of those guys that will never give up and will keep running until they can't give anything else. I really like to dominate on the court and play aggressive."

Tejerina (5-foot-8, 154 pounds) had tennis in his blood growing up in Spain. At the age of three, his father Miguel, a tennis coach in Madrid, gave him his first racquet and got him on his way to playing competitive tennis.

"He's been my coach since I started," says Tejerina. "He taught me to play and was the first person to give me a racquet and say, okay, just try to hit the ball. I owe him a lot because he's been my mentor."

Like many young tennis players in Spain, Tejerina also grew up idolizing Rafael Nadal, and used the "King of the Clay" as an inspiration while he competed for Club de Tennis Chamartin, a local club in Madrid that won a 2012 Spanish national championship.

"When I started competing he was number one. He's always been, how we say, a good mirror. That reference you always compare yourself to."

Tejerina's bio sounds eerily similar another Montana standout, fellow Spaniard Victor Casadevall, who is also known for grinding out sets. He finished the Big Sky season undefeated at 10-0 in the No. 5 slot.

There is one big difference between the two though: Casadevall is a supporter of FC Barcelona, while Tejerina grew up a fan of current UEFA Champions League winners, Real Madrid.

Luckily though, a net will separate the two during practice, and you don't play tennis with your feet.

University of Montana Athletics

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Players Mentioned

Semion Branzburg

Victor Casadevall

Tomasz Soltyka

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