Montana goes undefeated in opening round of ITA Regionals

All five representatives from the Montana men's tennis team advanced to the second round of play on day one at the ITA Mountain Regional tournament Wednesday, with the Grizzlies picking up four wins and one bye to open the tourney undefeated.

At the University of Denver in Colorado, UM sophomore Milo Benn was rewarded with his hot start to the fall tournament season with a first-round bye, and will now face North Dakota's Jake Kuhlman in the second round of the 128-player bracket.

It was upset-city in UM's other four opening-round matches, with sophomores Oisin Shaffrey beating Air Force's Justin Waldman in a three-set thriller (6-2, 6-7(5), 7-5) and Ed Pudney beating New Mexico's Alexander Maggs (6-2, 6-3).

Seniors Max Korkh and Ludvig Hallgren picked up wins as well, with Korkh beating Daniel Krulig of the hometown DU Pioneers in three sets (6-3, 3-6, 6-4), and Hallgren beating Boise State's Kemal Karagozoglu in straight sets (6-3, 6-4).

The wins represent a nearly perfect start for the Griz, who entered the tournament with high expectations.

"This is the premier fall event for us. It's one where you see the top level in our region, a higher level than the Big Sky. So, if you make a run here or really show out, it bodes well," said head coach Jason Brown.

The hot start also gets the Grizzlies out on the right foot in accomplishing their goal of repeating past performances from legends like Victor Casadevall, who became the first Grizzly to advance to the regional quarterfinal in 2018.

"It's all upside for us in this thing. I'd love to have these guys go make a run, and I think it could be any of the five that makes a break-through," said Brown. "That's the point of going. That's what we're trying to do, go test ourselves against the best competition."

Second-round singles action continues Wednesday afternoon at DU, with the first round of doubles getting underway Wednesday as well.

Links to draws and live results updates can be found at GoGriz.com.

The ITA Mountain Regional runs for five days, starting Wednesday and finishing on Sunday, Oct. 20.

University of Montana Athletics

Montana goes undefeated in opening round of ITA Regionals

Players Mentioned

Milo Benn

Victor Casadevall

Ludvig Hallgren

Max Korkh

Ed Pudney

Oisin Shaffrey

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