Griz face rematch with Bengals at Big Sky Championship

TOURNAMENT CENTRAL

It wasn't long ago the Montana men's tennis team was facing the prospect of elimination for the Big Sky Tournament, but after closing out the regular season with five wins in their last seven matches, the Griz now head to Phoenix, Ariz., with a chance at a title.

The fourth-seed Griz (12-8, 7-4 BSC) will take the courts at the Phoenix Tennis Center on Thursday at 12:30 p.m. (MT) in the second quarterfinal match of the day. Third-seed Sacramento State and sixth-seed Montana State round out the bracket in the other quarterfinal.

COVERAGE: Fans can follow the action from the Phoenix Tennis Center via the Big Sky's Tournament Central page with links to live stats, brackets, and a Twitter feed with live updates.

Montana will start its drive for its first league championship since 2014 against a familiar foe in fifth-seed Idaho State, who enter the tourney for the first time since 2013 with the same 12-8, 7-4 Big Sky record.

The Griz hold the edge over the Bengals, however, thanks to UM's 6-1 win over ISU back on April 8 in Missoula. The winner of the UM-ISU match will advance on to the semifinal to face the second-seed Idaho Vandals at 12:30 p.m. (MT) on Friday.

Despite dropping their final match of the regular season on Sunday against Weber State, the Griz enter the tourney with renewed confidence after a run through a conference season that saw UM hang tough with every opponent in the tournament field.

"There's no one we can't beat, honestly. Even the losses we had against the top seeds this year were 4-3, super close," said freshman Max Korkh, who has been one of UM's top performers in his first year of college tennis.

"I honestly don't think there is anyone that can harm us, we've just got to show up, play our best, fight hard, and there's nothing that can't happen."

Head coach Kris Nord says the loss to Weber gave his troops the wake-up call needed to enter the tournament hungry for more.

"It's new season time, and we've talked about that. I think these guys will reboot and be ready to go, I really do," said Nord before the team's final practice session on Tuesday.

"We're looking big picture. We're going there to win the Big Sky and not to make a good showing."

Holding a 6-1 win over Idaho State heading into Thursday's match looks good on paper for the Griz, but those in attendance at the PEAK Racquet Club in Missoula that day know the result against the Bengals was anything but a forgone conclusion.

After winning the doubles point, Montana lost the services of its No. 1 player in junior Victor Casadevall, who went down with an ankle injury early in the singles round. At that time, UM was down a set on two different courts, but after Casadevall's injury, the Griz rallied around their teammate to grind out the 6-1 win.

After three weeks of rehab, Casadevall is slated to make his return in Phoenix, giving UM a boost heading into the rematch.

"That 6-1 score didn't indicate how close that match was as all. Our guys know we're in for a dogfight," said Nord.

"There's a little advantage to having a bye at the tourney, but it's whoever gets hot and stays healthy. We're getting healthier, and if we get hot Thursday I like our chances Friday, but we're looking at this one day at a time."

Montana also brings one of the hottest hands in the Big Sky to Phoenix with them in junior Ignacio Tejerina, who holds the conference's third-best overall winning percentage with a 14-2 singles record.

The transfer from Union College (Ky.) enters his first Big Sky tournament as a winner in 12 of his last 13 singles matches and is looking to ramp up the intensity even more on the big stage after falling to Weber last week.

"We want to finish in the best way possible, so I expect a lot of energy, a lot of intensity, a lot of emotion out there, but always keeping a positive mind and expecting the best things," said Tejerina.

"I think that loss is going to help us to be even more positive and willing to put a big effort out at the tournament."

Northern Arizona captured the regular season Big Sky Championship with a 10-1 conference record and is the top seed at the tournament. The Lumberjacks will face the winner of the Sacramento State-Montana State match in the other semifinal on Friday.

Griz face rematch with Bengals at Big Sky Championship

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Players Mentioned

Victor Casadevall

Max Korkh

Ignacio Tejerina

University of Montana Athletics