Saturday, March 2
Portland, Ore.
10 AM (MT)
Montana
1
at
5
Portland
Pudney picks up win as Griz fall to Portland
3/2/2019 3:19:00 PM | Men's Tennis
The Montana men's tennis team wrapped up its two-match trip to Oregon with a 1-5 loss to the West Coast Conference's Portland Pilots on Saturday to go 0-2 on the weekend.
Due to travel concerns with severe weather in the area, the Pilots and Grizzlies agreed to forgo the doubles round, instead, playing just six singles matches.
Ed Pudney picked up the lone win for UM, a 7-5, 6-4 straight-sets decision over Portland's Issa Yoshida on court four that avoided the sweep.
The Grizzlies also had a chance on court two where Ludvig Hallgren bounced back to force a third set where he pushed it to a tiebreaker, eventually falling to Neos Eleftherios 6-0, 4-6, 7-6 (8-6).
"We had a chance to make it interesting, but they are a tough team," said head coach Jason Brown. "I was happy with how the guys competed."
The loss is the sixth-straight for the young Griz squad with six freshmen in the nine-man team, battling their way through a challenging nonconference schedule featuring Pac-12 and Mountain West teams, not to mention the defending Big East champions.
In that six-match losing streak is a trio of 4-3 results that could have gone either way and had the Grizzlies picked up those wins, could potentially be sitting pretty at 6-4 with upsets over Air Force and Utah and undefeated in league play. Unfortunately for UM, that's not the case.
"We know we need to get better, and we know we have to respond to adversity. With a young team, adversity will happen, but we're looking to bounce back," said Brown.
"The margins are close. We're right there in every way. We just have to get over the finish line."
The Grizzlies were forced to shuffle the lineup slightly, with junior Max Korkh sitting out the match tending to injury.
Freshman Oisin Shaffrey moved up from court five to three where he dropped just his third match of the season, a 6-3, 6-2 loss to the Pilot's Nicklas Oberg.
Milo Benn, the fourth freshman of the day to suit up for the Griz, saw action in just his second match this season, slotting in on court six where he put up a fight in a 6-4, 6-3 loss to put him at 1-1 on the year.
Meanwhile, Pudney's win improves his overall dual record to 6-4 on the season, the second-most wins on the team behind Shaffrey's seven.
The Grizzlies now turn their attention to Northern Arizona and Weber State on March 9 and 10 in Missoula. NAU currently boasts wins over Portland and San Diego State on their 3-6 record, while the Wildcats sit at 2-0 in league play (4-8 overall) and hold an upset over Gonzaga.
Portland 5, Montana 1
3/2/2019 at Portland, Ore. (Louisiana Pacific Tennis Center)
Singles competition
1. Sema Pankin (POR) def. CANELLOPOULOS, Alex (UM) 6-2, 6-2
2. Tom Hann (POR) def. HALLGREN, Ludvig (UM) 6-0, 4-6, 7-6 (8-6)
3. Nicklas Oberg (POR) def. SHAFFREY, Oisin (UM) 6-3, 6-2
4. PUDNEY, Ed (UM) def. Issa Yoshida (POR) 7-5, 6-4
5. Eleftherios Neos (POR) def. HALLGREN, Pontus (UM) 6-2, 6-0
6. Leo Hibi (POR) def. BENN, Milo (UM) 6-4, 6-3
Doubles competition (NA)
Match Notes
Montana 3-7
Portland 4-6
Order of finish: Doubles (); Singles (1,3,2,5,4,6)
Due to travel concerns with severe weather in the area, the Pilots and Grizzlies agreed to forgo the doubles round, instead, playing just six singles matches.
Ed Pudney picked up the lone win for UM, a 7-5, 6-4 straight-sets decision over Portland's Issa Yoshida on court four that avoided the sweep.
The Grizzlies also had a chance on court two where Ludvig Hallgren bounced back to force a third set where he pushed it to a tiebreaker, eventually falling to Neos Eleftherios 6-0, 4-6, 7-6 (8-6).
"We had a chance to make it interesting, but they are a tough team," said head coach Jason Brown. "I was happy with how the guys competed."
The loss is the sixth-straight for the young Griz squad with six freshmen in the nine-man team, battling their way through a challenging nonconference schedule featuring Pac-12 and Mountain West teams, not to mention the defending Big East champions.
In that six-match losing streak is a trio of 4-3 results that could have gone either way and had the Grizzlies picked up those wins, could potentially be sitting pretty at 6-4 with upsets over Air Force and Utah and undefeated in league play. Unfortunately for UM, that's not the case.
"We know we need to get better, and we know we have to respond to adversity. With a young team, adversity will happen, but we're looking to bounce back," said Brown.
"The margins are close. We're right there in every way. We just have to get over the finish line."
The Grizzlies were forced to shuffle the lineup slightly, with junior Max Korkh sitting out the match tending to injury.
Freshman Oisin Shaffrey moved up from court five to three where he dropped just his third match of the season, a 6-3, 6-2 loss to the Pilot's Nicklas Oberg.
Milo Benn, the fourth freshman of the day to suit up for the Griz, saw action in just his second match this season, slotting in on court six where he put up a fight in a 6-4, 6-3 loss to put him at 1-1 on the year.
Meanwhile, Pudney's win improves his overall dual record to 6-4 on the season, the second-most wins on the team behind Shaffrey's seven.
The Grizzlies now turn their attention to Northern Arizona and Weber State on March 9 and 10 in Missoula. NAU currently boasts wins over Portland and San Diego State on their 3-6 record, while the Wildcats sit at 2-0 in league play (4-8 overall) and hold an upset over Gonzaga.
Portland 5, Montana 1
3/2/2019 at Portland, Ore. (Louisiana Pacific Tennis Center)
Singles competition
1. Sema Pankin (POR) def. CANELLOPOULOS, Alex (UM) 6-2, 6-2
2. Tom Hann (POR) def. HALLGREN, Ludvig (UM) 6-0, 4-6, 7-6 (8-6)
3. Nicklas Oberg (POR) def. SHAFFREY, Oisin (UM) 6-3, 6-2
4. PUDNEY, Ed (UM) def. Issa Yoshida (POR) 7-5, 6-4
5. Eleftherios Neos (POR) def. HALLGREN, Pontus (UM) 6-2, 6-0
6. Leo Hibi (POR) def. BENN, Milo (UM) 6-4, 6-3
Doubles competition (NA)
Match Notes
Montana 3-7
Portland 4-6
Order of finish: Doubles (); Singles (1,3,2,5,4,6)
Team Stats
#1 Singles Match
12
22
Sema Pankin / 0 [POR]
66
#2 Singles Match
123
066
Tom Hann / 0 [POR]
647
#3 Singles Match
12
32
Nicklas Oberg / 0 [POR]
66
#4 Singles Match
12
76
Issa Yoshida / 0 [POR]
54
#5 Singles Match
12
20
Eleftherios Neos / 0 [POR]
66
#6 Singles Match
12
43
Leo Hibi / 0 [POR]
66
Order of Finish:
1,3,2,5,4,6
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
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