Griz bounce back with win over Weber

Sunday, March 10

Missoula, Mont.

9 AM

Montana

Weber State

3/10/2019 3:09:00 PM | Men's Tennis

Box Score PDF Box Score

By: Montana Sports Information

For as much success the Montana men's tennis team has seen over the past decade, Weber State has always managed to be the team's Achilles Heel.

All that changed on Sunday as the Griz snapped a six-year regular season losing streak to the Wildcats, defeating the visitors 5-2 at the Peak Racquet Club in Missoula.

Surprisingly, it was UM's first win over WSU in league play since 2013, and the first overall win since 2014 when the Griz advanced to the NCAA tourney for the first time in program history after beating Weber in the Big Sky championship.

And on the years in between, the Wildcats have cost the Griz no less than three regular-season championships, making the win that much sweeter.

It was also just the response Montana needed following a 7-0 loss to Northern Arizona on Saturday, snapping a seven-match losing streak, improving it to 2-2 in Big Sky play (4-8 overall), and filling the Grizzly coffers with confidence as the bulk of the conference season looms.

"The guys responded really well today after a tough loss, and I was proud of everyone's effort," said head coach Jason Brown.

"It may sound cliché, but I think this was a must-win match for us, and mixing up the doubles lineup gave us the spark of energy we needed."

The Grizzlies' shuffled lineup broke out to an early lead against the Wildcats, winning just the team's fourth doubles round of the season with two brand-new pairings.

That energy carried over to the singles round, with UM going 2/2 on the top three courts to build a 3-2 lead before freshman Oisin Shaffrey held off a comeback attempt on court five (6-0, 6-7 (7-9), 6-3) to clinch the victory for the Griz.

That's the winner!

Oisin Shaffrey clinches the W for #GrizTennis on 5 with one court to finish!#GoGriz pic.twitter.com/ov9m5KyRE7
— Montana Griz Tennis 🎾 (@MontanaGrizTEN) March 10, 2019

Montana built early momentum in the match with a fiery and tight win in the doubles round.

Playing together for the first time this season, Max Korkh and Ed Pudney picked up the first win of the day on court two, a 7-5 victory over Weber's Ohde/Li pair.

The Griz then clinched the point on court three, with the freshman duo of Shaffrey and Pontus Hallgren grinding out another 7-5 win over WSU's Werner/Walkusz pair, and UM was out to an early 1-0 overall lead.

Korkh carried that momentum over into the singles round with a convincing win on court three over WSU's Michael Van Schooor (6-3, 6-0), putting the Griz out to a 2-0 overall lead.

The Wildcats would then get one back on court one, with Alex Canellopoulos falling to the former Big Sky Freshman of the Year Kris Van Wyk 4-6, 1-6 while fighting through an ankle injury.

UM extended its lead to 3-1 with Ludvig Hallgren putting up another convincing win for the Griz on court two, taking a 6-4, 6-3 win over WSU's Bo-han Li to put the Griz up 3-1, needing just one more win on the three remaining courts to clinch the overall victory.

Weber's Paul Ohde held off a comeback attempt by Pudney on court four – with the Grizzly freshman falling in a third set tiebreaker (6-1, 4-6, 7-6 (7-3)), bringing the visitors within a point of the Griz with two matches to play.

While both matches on five and six went to three sets to add a little drama, Montana sealed the deal on court five when Shaffrey bounced back from a second-set tiebreaker loss to clinch the victory for UM.

On six, Pontus Hallgren, who was held out of the lineup against NAU with recent struggles, got back in the win column with a marathon three-set victory that featured a pair of tiebreakers over the big-hitting Junhao Ye (6-3, 6-7 (1-7), 7-6 (7-4)).

The Griz now turn their attention to perennial Big Sky powerhouse Idaho in two weeks on March 23 in Moscow before traveling to Las Vegas for spring break matches against UNLV and Boise State.

2018-19 Montana Men's Tennis
Weber State vs Montana (3/10/2019)

Montana 5, Weber State 2
3/10/2019 at Missoula, Mont. (PEAK Racquet Club)
Singles competition
1. VAN WYK, Kris (WSU) def. CANELLOPOULOS, Alex (UM) 6-4, 6-1
2. HALLGREN, Ludvig (UM) def. LI, Bo-han (WSU) 6-4, 6-3
3. KORKH, Max (UM) def. VAN SCHOOR, Michiel (WSU) 6-3, 6-0
4. OHDE, Paul (WSU) def. PUDNEY, Ed (UM) 6-1, 4-6, 7-6 (7-3)
5. SHAFFREY, Oisin (UM) def. WERNER, Nick (WSU) 6-0, 6-7 (7-9), 6-3
6. HALLGREN, Pontus (UM) def. YE, Junhao (WSU) 6-3, 6-7 (1-7), 7-6 (7-4)

Doubles competition
1. CANELLOPOULOS, Alex/HALLGREN, Ludvig (UM) vs. VAN WYK, Kris/VAN SCHOOR, Michiel (WSU) 5-6, unfinished
2. KORKH, Max/PUDNEY, Ed (UM) def. LI, Bo-han/OHDE, Paul (WSU) 7-5
3. SHAFFREY, Oisin/HALLGREN, Pontus (UM) def. WERNER, Nick/WALKUSZ, Cezary (WSU) 7-5

Match Notes
Weber State 4-10, 2-2 BSC
Montana 4-8, 2-2 BSC
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3); Singles (3,1,2,4,5,6)
Official: Kim Delman T-4:35 A-33