Upperclassmen lead Griz in dramatic comeback

Saturday, April 6

Missoula, Mont.

Noon

Montana

Idaho State

4/6/2019 5:23:00 PM | Men's Tennis

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By: Montana Sports Information

The Montana men's tennis team only has three upperclassmen, and each of them came through when they were needed most to lead the Grizzlies to a critical 5-2 come-from-behind win over Idaho State on Saturday at the Peak Racquet Club in Missoula.

Faced with the prospect of what looked like a dismal loss to the Bengals, senior Alex Canellopoulos and juniors Ludvig Hallgren and Max Korkh led a comeback for the ages against second-ranked ISU.

Already down a point after a loss in the doubles round and trailing a set each, Canellopoulos and Hallgren rebounded to clinch victory from the jaws of almost certain defeat, eventually leading to a thrilling team victory.

"I thought that was the poorest doubles we've played all season. So, I told them it's gut-check time, and we get to decide today what kind of team we're going to be. If we're going to be a team that's vying for a championship or a team that isn't," said head coach Jason Brown.

"I'd like to say it kicked right in, but it looked like it took about 45 minutes for everyone to come fighting back."

At 7-11 and 4-3 in conference play, the Grizzlies' win over the Bengals creates a four-way tie at 4-3 in the Big Sky standings but will go a long way toward securing Montana's 29th-straight appearance in the Big Sky championship tourney.

Idaho State, which has had some of the region's best doubles teams in recent years, came out energized and clinched the doubles point with 6-4 wins on both courts two and three.

The visitors then carried the momentum over into the singles round, breezing to first set wins over Canellopoulos, Ludvig Hallgren and Oisin Shaffrey on courts one, two and four, respectively.

But meanwhile on court three, Korkh gave the Griz a glimmer of hope with a straight-set win over Lukas Ridemar (6-3, 7-5), but it was still not looking good for the Grizzlies as Shaffrey dropped his match on four (2-6, 6-7 (6)) to put ISU back up 2-1.

That's when the comeback started.

Dodging the bullets of ISU's big hitter Peter Trhac all day, Hallgren kept chipping away at the Bengal senior, rebounding from his first set loss to pick up a crucial 1-6, 6-3, 7-5 win that tied the overall match 2-2.

"He had every chance to go away against a guy who was banging huge serves, and felt like he was getting peppered with massive shots all the time. But he just hung tough and did what he does. Stayed crafty and hung around till he broke," said Brown of Hallgren.

With the momentum in the room shifting Canellopoulos was in a fight on court one that wasn't decided until late in the third set.

Finding himself down a set early, Canellopoulos won a second-set tiebreaker to stay alive, then came from behind in the third set in dramatic fashion to for the 2-6, 7-6 (5), 6-4 win over David Felix.

AC WITH A HUGE COMEBACK ON 1!#GrizTennis takes the 3-2 lead over ISU!#GoGriz #BigSkyTennis pic.twitter.com/xyVqegXVLw
— Montana Griz Tennis 🎾 (@MontanaGrizTEN) April 6, 2019

"What can I say about Alex. That's a huge win, and he finished it in such style," said Brown.

"He's had so many close matches not go his way, but he's just kept going forward. We talked about how this might be his last match in the Peak, and to get it on an inside-out forehand winner going about a hundred miles an hour was pretty cool in a must-win situation for us."

Canellopoulos' win gave the Grizzlies a 3-2 lead but also cemented the momentum in Montana's favor for the rest of the match.

It was elementary, then, or Ed Pudney (who had battled stomach flu all week) to clinch the match for the Griz on court five, with the freshman cruising to a 6-2, 6-2 win over Gary Rendek that sealed the team victory for Montana at 4-2.

Fellow freshman Pontus Hallgren then added to the Grizzlies' total with a three-set win on court six that capped the epic comeback for the Griz.

"We talked about how the margins are so thin that when you have the chance you need to slam the door, and that's what we did. They did a great job. It was a nice finish," Brown added.

Montana now prepares for an important road trip to face conference cellar dweller Eastern Washington on April 14 and the upstart Montana State Bobcats who upset Sacramento State in Bozeman on Saturday.

Hear from senior Alex Canellopolus after a MASSIVE #GrizTennis win over Idaho State.#GoGriz #BigSkyTennis pic.twitter.com/MnsgnIY8SA
— Montana Griz Tennis 🎾 (@MontanaGrizTEN) April 6, 2019