Griz run out of gas against Marquette

Sunday, February 24

Salt Lake City, Utah

11 AM

Montana

Marquette

2/24/2019 2:36:00 PM | Men's Tennis

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By: Montana Sports Information

The magic the Montana men's tennis team put on the court Saturday in a near upset of Utah ran out Sunday when the defending Big East Conference champion Marquette Golden Eagles soundly defeated the Griz 7-0 on a neutral court in Salt Lake.

The loss drops UM to 3-5 on the young season and 0-2 on its trip to Utah, with the young team unable to rebound from the emotional and physical high of Saturday's battle with the Utes. Marquette, meanwhile, improves to 6-5 with the win as it rebounds from a 1-6 loss to the Utes on Friday.

For the Griz, it was a tale of two different performances against two tough teams as the six freshmen on the nine-man squad adjust to the pace of college tennis.

"Yesterday showed us how good we could be. Today showed us how much room we have to improve against an excellent team," said head coach Jason Brown.

Montana was swept by Marquette in both the singles and doubles round, with each singles match ending in straight-set victories for the Golden Eagles.

Grizzly junior Max Korkh was close to extending his match to a third set on court three, forcing a tiebreaker in the second set. His effort in the breaker fell short, however, falling 6-3, 7-6 (7-4).

Oisin Shaffrey dropped just his second match of the year to put him at 6-2 on the season. The freshman played from behind on court five after falling 6-3 in the first set, and the comeback attempt fell short in the second set tiebreaker to finish 6-3, 7-6 (7-2).

With valuable experience in-hand, Montana returns to Big Sky Conference play next Friday at Portland State, looking to move to 2-0 in league play on the season. The Griz will also get a nonconference match with the Portland Pilots on Saturday, March 2.