Griz start strong, beat Sac State 5-2

Friday, April 7

Missoula, Mont.

2:00 PM

Montana

Sacramento State

4/7/2017 6:52:00 PM | Men's Tennis

By: Montana Sports Information

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In a match that may prove crucial when it comes to qualifying for the Big Sky Tournament, the Montana men's tennis team dominated early and defeated Sacramento State 5-2 in Missoula.

The Griz (9-7/4-3 BSC) entered the day in eighth place in the Big Sky, three spots behind the Hornets (9-11/6-3). The top six teams in the Big Sky move on to play in the postseason, and head coach Kris Nord knew entering Friday's match that a win would be a huge stepping stone to continuing his team's season.

The No. 2 doubles team of Alex Canellopoulos and Yannick Schmidl brought the energy for the Griz early, opening with a break and cruising to a 6-0 win. The Grizzly pair controlled the net play in a quick set that helped put Montana in a position to win the doubles point.

The Griz couldn't find the same energy on the No. 1 court, however, where Peter Mimnagh-Fleming and Max Korkh dropped their match 6-2.

Even with the loss at No. 1, Montana didn't worry. The team of Victor Casadevall and Ludvig Hallgren coasted to an easy 6-2 win to clinch the first point of the match for the Grizzlies.

"We played the best doubles I've seen us play at two, which was huge," Nord said. "I knew three was rolling, and we were struggling at one, but I thought we had a good little dose of momentum coming out of doubles."

It was a postseason atmosphere in PEAK Racquet Club as the singles matches picked up, with three matches all coming down to the wire at nearly the same time.

Once again, Schmidl provided the energy for the Griz team, dominating the first set at No. 2 singles 6-0. He faced a deficit in the second set but rallied behind a big serve and solid net play for a 6-4 win in the second set.

"I was able to keep it going from the doubles into the singles, which is sometimes not easy when you have the short break and then start right away," Schmidl said. "It is a different game, you play differently, but the quick start was very important."

Schmidl was the more aggressive player all match long, ripping big serve after big serve and getting to the net well.

"The serve was a big thing, for me it always is. If I serve well it makes it so much easier," he said. "I'm a big hitter, and the guy I played was a bit defensive, so I just waited and took the right moment to attack, and I think that was the key today."

The win at No. 2 made things very interesting on a couple other courts, where Griz players were up a set but in danger of losing the second.

Mimnagh-Fleming trailed for a majority of the first set against defending Big Sky Conference Player of the Week Kasparas Zemaitelis, but he was able to pick up his first break in the ninth game of the set to take a 5-4 lead.

Serving up a break, Mimnagh-Fleming outlasted Zemaitelis in a long game to take the first set 6-4.

The drama in the match continued into set number two. After Mimnagh-Fleming grabbed an early lead, Zemaitelis bounced back to move ahead 5-4. Mimnagh-Fleming held his serve to level the match at 5-all and then rallied to break Zemaitelis and take back the lead.

It all came down to the service game of Mimnagh-Fleming, who held on to clinch the third overall point for the Grizzlies.

"Every game was so close, and I've played that guy four times already and never lost to him," Mimnagh-Fleming said. "I always knew if I stayed close to him I would kind of be in his head. He serves big, I just tried to hang in on every point and make it tough for him."

The pressure then shifted onto the shoulders of the sophomore from Greece, Alex Canellopoulos. After winning the opening set 6-1, Canellopoulos fell behind Louis Chabut in the second set.

The sophomore rallied to win his final serve and send it to a 7-point tiebreak. Canellopoulos controlled the tiebreak early on and held on to clinch the match for the Griz after just four points were decided.

"To clinch it on the first rotation was huge," Nord said. "I loved Pete's fight and even Victor's getting his match to a third set while Alex was wrapping up. Three out of our top four took care of business and that's good to see."

Canellopoulos and Schmidl were huge factors in the win for Montana, dominating the doubles point and then picking up two-set wins in their singles matches.

"I thought Alex played the best doubles he has played this year, and it's fun to see it coming together now. He returned well, he attacked the volley well, and he carried all of that into singles. He had a rough spot out there, but he hung on which is good."

In a Big Sky Conference where it seems any team can win against anyone else, performing well in the clutch made a big difference for the Griz. They know if a couple points went the other way, it could have been a much different story.

"We knew we were capable of beating Sac. St., but every team is so even this year that we could have lost 4-0 too," Mimnagh-Fleming said. "All the matches were pretty close, so it's great to get the win."

After a great comeback in the second set, Victor Casadevall couldn't muster up enough shots in the third set at No. 1 singles, falling 6-1, 6-7, 6-2.

The Griz split the final two matches, with Ignacio Tejerina picking up a come from behind win in the second set to win the fifth point of the day for the Grizzlies.

Montana doesn't get much time to celebrate the win. They return to action tomorrow afternoon, following the completion of the women's match, against Idaho State. A win against the Bengals would move the Grizzlies into the final postseason position.

"This means nothing if we don't show up and do it again tomorrow," Nord said. "That's the message I'm going to tell these boys, and I think they are aware of that. Idaho State is going to come out fired up and ready to roll, and we have to be prepared for that, it will be equally as hard as this match."

Montana continues its home stand on Saturday, hosting Idaho State at 1 pm at the PEAK Racquet Club.