Griz beat defending Big Sky champ Vandals on the road

Saturday, March 23

Moscow, Idaho

1 PM (MT)

Montana

Idaho

Griz beat defending Big Sky champ Vandals on the road

3/23/2019 6:39:00 PM | Men's Tennis

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By: Montana Sports Information

The Montana men's tennis made a statement in Big Sky play on Saturday, defeating the two-time defending conference champion Idaho Vandals on their home court with a decisive 5-2 win.

It was once again a come-from-behind performance for the Griz, dropping the doubles point to go down 0-1 early. But UM's singles were stellar, with the Griz winning all four top-of-the-order matches to clinch the win at 4-1, and splitting the bottom-order matches to make it a 5-2 final.

The victory improves the Griz to 6-8 overall and 3-2 in league play while giving them a big leg up in the race to a 29th-straight conference tournament appearance, needing a top-six finish to advance. It was also the third-straight win for UM, picking up a weekend sweep in the Gem State following a 7-0 win over Lewis-Clark State on Friday. Idaho, meanwhile, falls to 4-10 and 1-3 in conference play.

"It was just an outstanding effort form the boys today, said head coach Jason Brown.

"We talked about how this match - talent-wise - was really close, and that being the visitor and being young didn't play in our favor. But we came out with such a professional effort, and just played fantastic tennis. The guys responded very well."

Doubles play at Idaho continued to vex the Grizzlies, with the Vandals jumping out to an early 1-0 lead with wins on all three courts. UM has only won the doubles point four times in 11 matches this season, putting the team at a disadvantage each time.

Despite starting from behind, the Griz came out and dominated the singles round, sweeping matches on courts one through four to clinch the overall win with two courts left to play.

Senior Alex Canellopoulos got a big monkey off his back, snapping an eight-match losing streak against Division-I opponents by overpowering Idaho's three-time All-Big Sky senior Carlos Longhi Neto in straight sets 7-5, 6-3 on court one.

"Neto is one of the best players in the Big Sky and has been for three years. Alex played his best match of the season today, which was great to see," added Brown.

Freshman Ed Pudney had his second-straight dominant win on court four, defeating Idaho's Lucas Coutinho easily in straight sets 6-1, 6-1. Including Pudney's win at LCSC on Friday, the first-year standout returns to Missoula losing only three games in four sets all weekend.

Junior Max Korkh put the Griz up 3-1 with a straight-sets win on three, 7-5, 6-1, and fellow junior Ludvig Hallgren then clinched the team victory for the Griz on court three with a three-set win.

Following a confidence-boosting home win over Weber State two weeks ago, Montana has made it three-straight victories with the win over the Vandals. Following a two-match nonconference trip to play Boise State and UNLV in Las Vegas, the Griz return home with a chance to extend their league winning streak against Sacramento State and Idaho State on April 4 and 6.