Griz axed by Jacks

Saturday, March 9

Missoula, Mont.

Noon

Montana

Northern Arizona

3/9/2019 6:00:00 PM | Men's Tennis

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By: Montana Sports Information

The Montana men's tennis team returned home for its first match in over a month to take on Big Sky preseason favorite Northern Arizona, but the friendly confines of the Peak Racquet Club weren't so kind to the hosts, with the Lumberjacks picking up a 7-0 sweep.

Northern Arizona and Montana entered the season picked to finish No. 1 and 2, respectively, but the experienced Lumberjacks and the nationally ranked Tim Handel (No. 119) exposed the youth of the Grizzlies, who started three freshmen in the six-man lineup.

"They were picked to win the conference, and they came out and played like it. They weren't bothered by anything.," said head coach Jason Brown.

"They played like a team full of seniors against a team full of freshman, so we have to get better. Period."

The loss drops Montana to 3-8 on the season and 1-2 in Big Sky play, while extending its losing streak to seven. The loss also snaps a nine-match home win streak for UM that dates back to the 2017 season.

NAU, meanwhile, improves to 2-0 in conference play, having lost only two individual matches so far this season in a 5-2 win over Southern Utah.

The Lumberjacks earned the doubles point to go up early in the match, taking wins on courts one and two. On court one, senior Alex Canellopoulos and freshman Ed Pudney squared off against the No. 67 ranked Handel/Montano pair from NAU, with the visitors taking a 6-1 win.

Oisin Shaffrey and Max Korkh didn't fare much better on court two, falling 6-2 to clinch the point for the 'Jacks.

In singles, Pudney struggled to gain momentum on court four, falling in straight sets 6-3, 6-3 to NAU's Facundo Tumosa.

On court one, Handel, the only Big Sky player to earn a national ranking from the ITA so far this season, held off a first-set rally by Canellopoulos to win 7-5, 6-3, putting NAU up 3-0 in short order.

The Lumberjacks then clinched the match with another straight-set win on court three, with Lucas Taylor defeating Max Korkh 6-2, 6-4.

Meanwhile, on court three, Montana's Ludvig Hallgren was in a battle with NAU's Chris Steele, with both sets going to a tiebreaker. In the hotly contested match, Hallgren couldn't pull through 7-6 (6-2), 7-6 (8-6).

Montana returns to action on Sunday morning at 9 a.m. at the Peak Racquet Club against a Weber State squad that will be out to prove a point after falling at Montana State on Saturday.