Griz fall to Vikings in Big Sky quarterfinal

Thursday, April 25

Phoenix, Ariz.

9:00 AM (MT)

Montana

Portland State

4/25/2019 4:02:00 PM | Men's Tennis

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By: Montana Sports Information

The youth of Montana men's tennis came through when the team needed it most, with two of UM's three freshmen getting a win and the third leading at clinch, but it wasn't enough for a team victory as the Griz fell to Portland State 4-2 in the Big Sky championship tourney quarterfinal.

"We spotted them too big a lead. In the past, with veteran teams, we could reel people in, but we just didn't quite have enough bring it back," said head coach Jason Brown.

"Hats off to them, they played really well in the clutch in a couple of spots. There were some key moments in Max (Korkh's) match and Ludvig (Hallgren's) match where we were on the verge of making it real close or maybe pulling out a victory, and they played well when it mattered."

Montana split matches in the doubles round with freshmen Oisin Shaffrey and Ed Pudney rolling to a 6-1 win on court three, but the Vikings claimed the point with a 6-3 win on court two to go up 1-0.

UM couldn't claim much-needed wins at the top of the lineup though, with senior Alex Canellopoulos getting run over by PSU's Matteo Fortini on court one in his final match as a Grizzly, 6-1, 6-1.

Junior Max Korkh battled a white-hot Lucas Branco on court two but fell in straight sets 6-4, 6-4. Korkh finishes the season as one of Montana's top performers at 8-2 in conference play and 12-9 overall, priming himself to be a force in the Big Sky as a senior.

"Max had a stellar year, and his tennis got better each month. He was absolutely untouchable in the Peak at home, and he just fought and did a great job setting things up for next year," added Brown.

The Griz made a comeback lower in the lineup, however, with Pudney and Pontus Hallgren picking up wins on court four and six, and Shaffrey leading his match in a second-set tiebreaker on court five when PSU clinched.

Meanwhile, junior Ludvig Hallgren split sets on court three against PSU standout Tommy Edwards, giving the Griz a chance to seal the comeback.

Hallgren's bid fell short in the third set, however, taking a 7-5, 2-6, 6-4 loss that sealed the overall dual for the Vikings.

The loss caps an up and down season for the Griz, who a week ago were on the outside looking in at the team's 29th-straight Big Sky championship, with an 8-14 overall record and a 5-5 conference record.

With six freshmen and two juniors set to return in 2018, the future of the Griz tennis program remains in good hands.

"I'm so happy they got here. I think they understand it a little bit more and will be geared toward winning championships in the future. The goal won't be just to get here like it was this season with such a young team, now the goal is to find a championship. And I think the returning cast is well set up to do that," said Brown.