Wolf Pack holds off Griz in Reno

Sunday, March 25

Reno, Nev.

Noon (MT)

Montana

Nevada

3/25/2018 7:08:00 PM | Men's Tennis

Box Score

By: Montana Sports Information

Fresh of a dramatic comeback win over Sacramento State, the Montana men's tennis team went hunting for an upset against the Nevada Wolf Pack on Sunday in Reno.

The Griz pushed Nevada to the limit with a pair of tiebreakers in doubles and forced three different three-set matches in singles, but ended up taking a 5-2 loss to the Pack, one of the strongest teams in the Mountain West at 11-3 this season.

"I was really happy with the adjustment from super slow outdoor courts at sea level in Sacramento to lightning fast indoor courts at elevation in Reno," said interim head coach Jason Brown.

"The guys battled, and if we had another shot, we might have got Nevada. Hats off to them, they're a good team, and it showed."

The loss bumps Montana to 5-3, but keeps the Griz at 2-0 in Big Sky play, and gives the Griz another litmus test to find out where they sit as they attempt to return to the league championship.

"Overall, I'd give this road trip a solid A. Nevada is better than anyone in the Big Sky, and this match will help us as we move forward," said Brown.

Montana shuffled the decks in doubles, pairing seniors Yannick Schmidl and Victor Casadevall on the No. 1 court, Alexander Canellopoulos and Ludvig Hallgren on court No. 2, and Zach Fisher with Max Korkh on No. 3.

Canellopoulos and Hallgren dropped their match to Nevada's O'Donovan/Delahodde pair 6-4, putting UM down early.

Montana rallied, however, with both the Fisher/Korkh and Schmidl/Casadevall pairs forcing a tiebreaker, where both eventually fell 7-6 (7-2).

Montana fell behind even more in the singles round, with Canellopoulos dropping a straight-set match on court three, and Casadevall taking a rare singles loss on court one, falling 6-4, 3-6, 3-6 to put the Griz down 3-0.

Ignacio Tejerina, the hero of Friday's match at Sac. State, got the Griz moving in the right direction, playing up on court four. The senior won a tiebreaker in the first set, then fought through the second for a 7-6 (7-0), 7-5 win.

Schmidl then pulled the Griz within one point of tying the match on court two, dominating the third set over Kostya Nesterenko to seal a 6-4, 3-6, 6-1 win.

The Griz comeback stalled there, however, as Korkh dropped a three-set match on court four to give Nevada the win.

Montana now begins a stretch of four-straight conference road matches, heading off to face Weber State on Thursday, March 29 and Idaho State on April 1, followed by the always-difficult trip to Northern Arizona and Southern Utah.

The Griz return home later in the month for five key home matches starting April 12 against Idaho and concluding April 22 with Eastern Washington ahead of the Big Sky tournament, April 26-29.

Nevada 5, Montana 2

3/25/2018 at Reno, Nev. (Lakeridge Tennis Club)
Singles competition
1. Julien Evrard (NEVADA) def. CASADEVALL, Victor (UM) 4-6, 6-3, 6-3
2. SCHMIDL, Yannick (UM) def. Kostya Nesterenko (NEVADA) 6-4, 3-6, 6-1
3. Robert Margitfalvi (NEVADA) def. CANELLOPOULOS, Alex (UM) 6-2, 6-1
4. TEJERINA, Ignacio (UM) def. Peter O'Donovan (NEVADA) 7-6 (7-0), 7-5
5. Augustin Delahodde (NEVADA) def. KORKH, Max (UM) 2-6, 6-3, 6-4
6. Jonathan Aremon (NEVADA) def. HALLGREN, Ludvig (UM) 6-2, 6-2

Doubles competition
1. Kostya Nesterenko/Julien Evrard (NEVADA) def. SCHMIDL, Yannick/CASADEVALL, Victor (UM) 7-6 (7-2)
2. Peter O'Donovan/Augustin Delahodde (NEVADA) def. CANELLOPOULOS, Alex/HALLGREN, Ludvig (UM) 6-4
3. Robert Margitfalvi/Dylan Levitt (NEVADA) def. FISHER, Zach/KORKH, Max (UM) 7-6 (7-2)

Match Notes
Montana 5-3
Nevada 11-3
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (3,1,4,2,5)
T-3:56 A-50