Constant improvement leads Korkh to first-team honors

When Montana men's tennis coach Jason Brown was still serving as an assistant under long-time mentor Kris Nord, the first player he recruited to the Grizzlies was a tall Canadian with a big serve named Max Korkh. And as with most freshmen, it took him a while to adjust to the speed of college tennis.

Fast forward three years and Brown is now the head coach, and Korkh has just wrapped up his junior season, which by all accounts was his best yet.

With a league-best 7-1 record in conference play on court three and a 6-1 record at the friendly confines of the Peak Racquet Club in Missoula, Korkh was named first-team All-Big Sky in singles by the league on Friday.

"It's well deserved for the year he had. He won, especially at home, won in dominant fashion. Really statement wins. He was also a great leader in the gym, on the court, and in the classroom, and I'm glad he's getting the recognition he deserves," said Brown.

"I really feel like he's fulfilling the promise that he brought when he came here. For me, this is not unexpected, and I expect even bigger things from him."

The accolade – his first all-conference selection as a Grizzly – marks Korkh's arrival as the next in a long line of Griz greats to earn first-team honors.

It also marks a steady improvement into the upper echelon of singles players in the league, starting with a humble 6-5 Big Sky record as a bottom-of-the-lineup freshman, improving to 7-3 as a sophomore, and capping his junior season as one of the best in the conference at 8-2.

In that 8-2 record, Korkh picked up straight-set wins over the likes of Sac State's Hermont Legaspi (a second-team all-conference selection), Idaho State's Lukas Ridemar, Montana State's Joaquin Espinoza, and Southern Utah's Remus Cope - all upper-lineup players on their respective teams – to finish the regular season on a 4-1 run.

He's also now the 20th first-team all-conference selection in school history and follows 2018 graduates Yannick Schmidl and Victor Casadevall in collecting the league honor for singles.

His first Big Sky accolade comes just in time for him to become a senior leader with the team in the 2019-20 season.

"I think this award cements his place a tradition of great Montana tennis players. We had two first-team guys last year, and putting another on this year means a lot for the program, but it also lets him step into the leadership role nicely," said Brown.

"He showed what hard work and dedication in the offseason can accomplish, and I think he will be a great role model for our still very young team."

With Korkh's help, Montana advanced to the quarterfinals of the Big Sky championship tournament, where they fell to eventual finalist Portland State. With half the starting lineup built of freshmen, the postseason appearance was somewhat unexpected for the Grizzlies, but an upset of second-ranked Southern Utah in the last regular season match of the year punched their ticket.

Now, with Korkh and fellow rising senior Ludvig Hallgren returning to lead UM and a championship experience under the freshmen's belts, the Griz will be looking to make a deep run in the postseason in the 2019-20 season.

2019 Big Sky Men's Tennis All-Conference Team

First Team Singles
*#Tim Handel, Northern Arizona
Jeremy Field, Eastern Washington
Salvador Mijares, Southern Utah
^Mikus Losbergs, Sacramento State
Max Korkh, Montana
Lucas Taylor, Northern Arizona

*Unanimous All-Big Sky First Team Singles Selection
#Four-time All-Big Sky First Team Singles Selection
^Two-time All-Big Sky First Team Singles Selection

Second Team Singles
Alexander Flink, Montana State
Ruben Montano, Northern Arizona
Lucas Castelo Branco, Portland State
Matteo Fortini, Portland State
Facundo Tumosa, Northern Arizona
Hermont Legaspi, Sacramento State
Johannes Gjerdaker, Sacramento State

Honorable Mention Singles
David Felix, Idaho State
Tom Fisher, Northern Arizona
Tommy Edwards, Portland State
Paul Ohde, Weber State

First Team Doubles
^Tim Handel/Ruben Montano, Northern Arizona
Mikus Losbergs/Louis Chabut, Sacramento State
David Felix/Gary Rendek, Idaho State

^Two-time All-Big Sky First Team Doubles Selection

Second Team Doubles
Tom Fisher/Chris Steele, Northern Arizona
Tommy Edwards/Avery West, Portland State
Jonathan Morales/Conor Tordoff, Southern Utah

Honorable Mention Doubles
Alexander Flink/Drew Brown, Montana State
Lucas Taylor/Facundo Tumosa, Northern Arizona

Individual Awards
Big Sky Most Valuable Player: Tim Handel, Northern Arizona
Big Sky Freshman of the Year: Facundo Tumosa, Northern Arizona

University of Montana Athletics

Constant improvement leads Korkh to first-team honors

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