Wednesday, October 16
Denver, Colo.
All Day
Montana
at
ITA Mountain Regionals
Shaffrey and Hallgren make deep runs in Regional bracket
10/21/2019 5:13:00 PM | Men's Tennis
The Montana men's tennis team returned to the ITA Mountain Region Tournament after a one-year hiatus over the weekend and picked up where it left off in 2017, posting some of the program's best results ever at the marquee event of the fall tournament calendar.
With some of the premier teams in the Western U.S. squaring off at the University of Denver Oct. 16-20, the Grizzlies made waves by going undefeated as a group in the first round of action, with two more players advancing to the round of 16.
Senior Ludvig Hallgren picked up wins over opponents from Boise State, Nevada, and Utah State to advance to his first round of 16 at the regional tourney. Meanwhile, sophomore Oisin Shaffrey secured wins over players from Air Force, Utah State, and Boise State. Together, they were two of only three players from the Big Sky Conference to advance that deep in the brackets.
The Griz also picked up an upset win in the doubles round, with Shaffrey and senior Max Korkh defeating Utah's Pac-12 pair of Rafael Grovas and Rian Ta in the opening round, 8-4.
"We felt like we made a statement, and that's what we want. We want to start rising to the top of this region and compete with those schools, and this was a step in doing that," said head coach Jason Brown.
"A big part of it was the confidence and belief our guys have. We want to get it back to where no one wants to see a Montana player across from them in their bracket, and there was some of that this week."
Hallgren made his run to the Sweet 16 look easy blowing through his first opponents in straight-sets before pushing eventual finalist M. Vereau of BYU in a first-set tiebreaker and falling in the second set (6-7(4), 2-6). Along the way, Hallgren picked up wins over Boise State's Kemal Karagozoglu (6-3, 6-4), Nevada's Daniel Dudockin (6-2, 6-4), and Utah State No. 1 Felipe Acosta (6-3, 6-4).
"Ludvig played like a senior. He played like someone who's been there before, and it was a joy to watch," said Brown.
Playing in the first regional tourney of his career, Shaffrey also impressed with a run to the Sweet 16 before eventually falling to another eventual finalist in Sean Hill from BYU. To get there, the native of Dublin, Ireland, ground-out three-set wins over Justin Waldman of Air Force (6-2 6-7(5) 7-5), Arvid Hjalte of Utah State (3-6 6-3 6-2).
He then picked up the most telling win of the tournament, and perhaps the most telling win of his career, upsetting Boise State's Wyatt Demulling (7-6(2) 7-5), who had previously beaten Shaffrey 6-1, 6-0 in their first meeting last spring during the duals season.
"There are not a lot of times you get a true measurement of your improvement from, say, March to October, and to see his progress was really cool," Brown added.
With a successful showing under their belts at Regionals, Brown says he thinks his young Grizzlies are in a position to once again make a run at a Big Sky championship come April.
"I think the guys came back this fall inspired to close the gap more," said Brown. "When we re-start our season, we'll have seen players who are nationally ranked, and we'll know we're close."
Montana returns to action Nov. 1-3 at the Peak Fall Championships in Missoula.
With some of the premier teams in the Western U.S. squaring off at the University of Denver Oct. 16-20, the Grizzlies made waves by going undefeated as a group in the first round of action, with two more players advancing to the round of 16.
Senior Ludvig Hallgren picked up wins over opponents from Boise State, Nevada, and Utah State to advance to his first round of 16 at the regional tourney. Meanwhile, sophomore Oisin Shaffrey secured wins over players from Air Force, Utah State, and Boise State. Together, they were two of only three players from the Big Sky Conference to advance that deep in the brackets.
The Griz also picked up an upset win in the doubles round, with Shaffrey and senior Max Korkh defeating Utah's Pac-12 pair of Rafael Grovas and Rian Ta in the opening round, 8-4.
"We felt like we made a statement, and that's what we want. We want to start rising to the top of this region and compete with those schools, and this was a step in doing that," said head coach Jason Brown.
"A big part of it was the confidence and belief our guys have. We want to get it back to where no one wants to see a Montana player across from them in their bracket, and there was some of that this week."
Hallgren made his run to the Sweet 16 look easy blowing through his first opponents in straight-sets before pushing eventual finalist M. Vereau of BYU in a first-set tiebreaker and falling in the second set (6-7(4), 2-6). Along the way, Hallgren picked up wins over Boise State's Kemal Karagozoglu (6-3, 6-4), Nevada's Daniel Dudockin (6-2, 6-4), and Utah State No. 1 Felipe Acosta (6-3, 6-4).
"Ludvig played like a senior. He played like someone who's been there before, and it was a joy to watch," said Brown.
Playing in the first regional tourney of his career, Shaffrey also impressed with a run to the Sweet 16 before eventually falling to another eventual finalist in Sean Hill from BYU. To get there, the native of Dublin, Ireland, ground-out three-set wins over Justin Waldman of Air Force (6-2 6-7(5) 7-5), Arvid Hjalte of Utah State (3-6 6-3 6-2).
He then picked up the most telling win of the tournament, and perhaps the most telling win of his career, upsetting Boise State's Wyatt Demulling (7-6(2) 7-5), who had previously beaten Shaffrey 6-1, 6-0 in their first meeting last spring during the duals season.
"There are not a lot of times you get a true measurement of your improvement from, say, March to October, and to see his progress was really cool," Brown added.
With a successful showing under their belts at Regionals, Brown says he thinks his young Grizzlies are in a position to once again make a run at a Big Sky championship come April.
"I think the guys came back this fall inspired to close the gap more," said Brown. "When we re-start our season, we'll have seen players who are nationally ranked, and we'll know we're close."
Montana returns to action Nov. 1-3 at the Peak Fall Championships in Missoula.
Players Mentioned
Griz Volleyball Press Conference - 9/8/25
Tuesday, September 09
Griz Football vs. Central Washington Highlights - 9/6/25
Tuesday, September 09
Griz Football Press Conference - 9/8/25
Monday, September 08
Griz Football vs. Central Washington Press Conference - 9/6/25
Monday, September 08
