Griz set to cap fall season at Bulldog Classic

Montana's young men's tennis squad will travel to Spokane for the annual Bulldog Classic at Gonzaga this weekend, looking to cap the fall tournament season on a high note as the Grizzlies prepare to return to the Big Sky title match in the spring.

Following an overall successful fall schedule where each of UM's nine-man squad has shown flashes of excellence, the Griz return to the courts at GU's Stevens Tennis Center Oct. 26-28 seeking to put together a complete team performance.

"For having a team with six freshmen they've come together really nicely this fall," said head coach Jason Brown. "All have competed well, so I'm very happy with the progress. In some ways we're ahead of schedule, so no I'd like to see them put it all together for this last tournament."

WATCH: Gonzaga will provide a live stream of each of the indoor courts at the Stevens Tennis Center so fans around the world can follow the Griz in action.

Visit GoGriz.com to find a link to the live stream.

THE EVENT: The Bulldog Classic will serve as the perfect warmup for Montana's spring duals season as well, with all eight teams in attendance appearing on the Grizzlies' 2019 schedule.

Set to participate in the eight-team field at GU are the host Bulldogs (whom the Grizzlies open the regular season against on Jan 19), Boise State, Eastern Washington, Montana State, Portland, Portland State, and Utah.

"This tournament has a lot more in common, in my mind, with our important matches in the spring. It's indoors, and we'll play against a bunch of competition that we have on the schedule. It will prepare us well," said Brown.

THE FORMAT: The Bulldog Classic will be split into three singles brackets (red, white and blue) of 16 players each, and three doubles brackets of eight players each.

Play begins Friday, Oct. 26 at 9 a.m. with two rounds of doubles followed by one round of singles. Play commences daily at 9 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday as well.

GRIZ TRACKS: Montana has a history of success at Gonzaga's annual fall tourney, with a pair of Grizzlies taking titles in the 2017 event.

A year ago, Ignacio Tejerina won five-straight singles matches to win the "B" draw, and Max Korkh rebounded from a day one loss to win four straight and take the "A" draw consolation championship.

Tejerina and his partner Victor Casadevall also played for a championship in the doubles consolation round, falling just short in the title match against Portland's Sundram/Fisher pair, 6-4.

In the final team outing before Montana takes the court again in the spring, Brown will put together what he believes to be the top combinations at the Bulldog Classic with an eye on finalizing the six-man lineup for the duals season.

Looking to find the next combo that will carry the torch of doubles success, Brown will pair Alex Canellopoulos and Korkh together for the first time at GU, creating an experienced and powerful doubles team to take on some of the Northwest's best.

"I see them as a potentially really good one doubles pair in the Big Sky," said Brown.

Also getting paired for the first time in doubles are junior Ludvig Hallgren and his younger brother, freshman Pontus Hallgren who have both seen success during the fall tourney season.

Ludvig won the first singles flight of his career at the Wildcat Invite at Weber State in early October and rode a 10-match win streak into the final of the Blue singles flight at the Dar Walters Classic in Boise.

In just the second tournament of his college career, Pontus advanced to the B flight doubles final at the Wildcat Invite with his then-partner, fellow freshman Jack Yount.

Brown will also pair another two standout freshmen at the Bulldog Classic. Ed Pudney and Oisin Shaffrey will take the court together for the first time this week.

Pudney advanced to the semifinal of EWU's Fall Classic, while Shaffrey won the B singles flight, while both playing in the first tournament of their college careers. They have both continued to impress this fall in competition, and have already turned heads at practice.

"They've looked fantastic all week. Both seem to be naturals on the doubles court and gel real well together," said Brown.

Following the Bulldog Classic, the Grizzlies will return to Missoula and turn their attention to offseason training.

With the University of Montana moving up the 2019 academic calendar, the first match of the season will come much earlier than normal for UM, as they return to Gonzaga for the first dual of spring on Jan. 19.

The extra time means more preparation for the Griz as they seek to return to the Big Sky title match for a third-straight season.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Alex Canellopoulos

Victor Casadevall

Ludvig Hallgren

Pontus Hallgren

Max Korkh

Ed Pudney

Oisin Shaffrey

Ignacio Tejerina

Jack Yount

University of Montana Athletics