Griz looking to build momentum on weekend trip south

As University of Montana students take off for spring break this weekend, so too does the Grizzly men's tennis team, which heads for the Sierra Nevada on a two-match tour against Sacramento State and Nevada.

The trip will be anything but a vacation, however, as Montana (4-2, 1-0 BSC) gets its first real test of the conference season against traditional Big Sky powerhouse Sac. State (3-10, 2-2 BSC), scheduled for 3 p.m. (MT) on March 23.

The Griz then travel over Donner Pass and down the Truckee River to Reno, where they will face the Wolfpack on Sunday, Mach 25 at Noon (MT).

THE GRIZ
Since Montana's match against league-leading Idaho was moved from early March to April 12, Friday's encounter against Sac. State becomes the de facto tone-setter for the Griz as they come off their final bye week of the season and power through 11 matches in the next 30 days.

"The bye was our last opportunity to push extra hard in the gym, push extra hard at practice, and I feel like they guys did that. Everyone is dialed in," said interim head coach Jason Brown. "They know what's at stake. This is where all of the things we want come together."

What's at stake is a return trip to the Big Sky tournament, a privilege only the top-six teams in the conference earn, and one the Grizzlies have never missed out on. But this year's Griz are setting their sights higher after a trip to the tournament championship in 2017, and a win over Sacramento State will go a long way toward reaching it.

Montana and Sac. State have a history of big matches, with recent results falling in the Grizzlies' favor as winners of five of the last six meetings.

Last year in Missoula, UM defeated the Hornets 5-2 to start a four-match win streak that propelled the Griz to the Big Sky tourney, where they eventually played for a title and trip the NCAA tourney.

In 2016, Montana went down to Sacramento and secured a 6-1 upset over the No. 2 Hornets, only to fall to them 2-4 in the first round of the league tournament three weeks later.

SCOUTING THE HORNETS
The Hornets were picked to finish one place ahead of the Grizzlies in the league's preseason poll in third place, edging out the Grizzlies by just two points (98-96).

"They're always a tough out. We've had some success in recent years, but they're a talented group and we're going to have to play well," said Brown.

Don't be fooled by Sac. State's 3-10 overall record. The Hornets have played up much of the season thus far, taking losses to programs like Saint Mary's, Minnesota, Grand Canyon and Hawaii.

Perhaps a hangover from a loss to Minnesota the day previous, the only curiosity on their 2-2 Big Sky record is a 4-3 loss to North Dakota in early February, a team Montana beat 7-0 two weeks ago.

The Hornets are led by two-time All-Big Sky performers Mikus Losbergs and Kasparas Zemaitelis, who earned all-conference honors in singles and as a doubles pair.

As Sac. State's No. 1 doubles pair this season, they are likely to face Montana's dynamic duo of Alexander Canellopoulos and Yannick Schmidl, who made UM history two weeks ago as the first Griz to earn a national ranking at No. 77.

"Losbergs and Zemaitelis are two really powerful, big-serving guys. It will be a great doubles match," said Brown.

SCOUTING NEVADA
The Wolfpack (10-3, 0-0 MW) faces Montana fresh off a pair of wins over Big Sky opponents, defeating both Sacramento State and Idaho 4-2.

Judging by the laws of transitive properties in comparing schedules, Nevada will provide a stern challenge for the Griz as they move from sea level in California to altitude in Reno.

"They're a good Mountain West team, and similar to Ball State," said Brown. "I'm always excited to play up, and I think the guys will come out, enjoy themselves and see if we can get a win."

The match against Nevada will be the final nonconference tune-up of the season for the Griz, with an all-Big Sky lineup from here out.

UM will close out spring break with a pair of matches at Weber State and Idaho State on Thursday, March 29 and Sunday, April 1.

Griz looking to build momentum on weekend trip south

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Players Mentioned

Alex Canellopoulos

Yannick Schmidl

University of Montana Athletics