Griz drop pair of matches to UNLV and NMSU

Saturday, January 30

Las Vegas, Nev.

10 AM

Montana

UNLV

1/30/2021 7:02:00 PM | Men's Tennis

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

By: Montana Sports Information

The Montana men's tennis team dropped a pair of matches against UNLV and New Mexico State in Las Vegas Saturday to complete its three-match road trip to the desert.

The Grizzlies fell to the Rebels 4-0 in a closer-than-it-seems match played to clinch and finished the day with a 4-1 loss to the Aggies. On Friday, Montana fell to Weber State 4-2 to complete the weekend at 0-3 and move to 1-4 on the season.

However, the results weren't all bad for the young Griz squad, with Freshmen Guillermo Martin going undefeated in doubles on the weekend Sam Nicholson earning a singles win against NMSU, and several Grizzlies on the road to an upset win when the matches were clinched.

Montana was also a tiebreaker away from taking the doubles point against UNLV, with the reigning Big Sky Player of the Week Ed Pudney set to win, but unable to finish the match.

"This was a tough trip, but it will help us. We got good competition against good teams, and it was nice to see how we stack up against a good conference opponent. Plus, it was good reps for the freshman," said head coach Jason Brown.

"We're a young team, but I love the way we competed. I feel like we played better as the weekend went on. The important matches happen in March and April, so we'll take a lot from this and get better."

MATCH 1: UNLV 4, Montana 0

In the first match of the day, Montana was close to winning the doubles point against the home-team Rebels by forcing a tiebreaker and pushed three of the six singles matches into the third set for a tense 4-0 loss.

The Grizzlies split the first two doubles matches, with Guillermo Martin and Milo Benn winning 6-4 on court three over UNLV's Ornberg/Dabic pair.

With the crucial doubles point hanging in the balance, Oisin Shaffrey and Chase Bartlett forced a tiebreaker on court one before falling 7-6 (3) in the decider and giving UNLV the 1-0 advantage.

Montana kept up the pressure in singles, but with the first two matches finishing in straight-sets, they didn't have enough room for error while playing to clinch.

Shaffrey hung tight in the first set on court two in a 7-5 loss, but UNLV's Jordan Sauer would power through in the second set for a 6-2 win, the first of the day for the Rebels to make the team score 2-0 in favor of the home team.

Similarly, Pontus Hallgren kept it tight in his first set on court four in a 7-5 loss but dropped his second 6-2 to give the Rebels a 3-0 lead.

The overall win wouldn't come easy for the home team from there, though, with Montana winning a set on all four remaining courts. Had the Grizzlies managed to sweep all four, it would have been a come-from-behind victory for the ages.

The defending Big Sky Player of the Week Ed Pudney came out strong to win his first set 6-1, fell in the second set 6-3, but was leading in the third set 3-2 when the match was called.

Meanwhile, Martin, Bartlett, and Benn each dropped their first set but rebounded to win the second, giving the Griz a shot at the win.

But on court three, UNLV's Milos Dabic finished strong, sweeping Bartlett 6-0 in the third to seal the Rebels' overall win, leaving the other three positions unfinished in the 4-0 win for the home squad.

MATCH 2: New Mexico State 4, UM 1

After a tight loss to UNLV, the Griz carried momentum into their afternoon match against the Aggies, who were smarting after a 4-2 loss to Weber State earlier in the day.

Due to NMSU's travel time constraints, the teams agreed to play the doubles round only if necessary, moving straight into singles to start the match with all six positions in action.

Despite a strong effort against the Rebels, Montana couldn't keep their foot on the gas, with the Aggies clinching the match at 4-1.

At position three, Nicholson took a straight-sets, 7-6, 6-4 over NMSU's Martin Simicek to claim the Grizzlies only victory.

Shaffrey was a tiebreaker away from taking a set on court two in a 6-4, 7-6 (2) loss to Nicolas Buitrago, and Martin was en-route to a singles win on court six, leading 7-5, 4-2 over the Aggies' Petr Stavrovski when the match was called.

Montana now prepares to hit the road for a pair of doubleheaders in the month of February, traveling to Whitman College in Walla Walla on Feb. 13, followed by a trip to Spokane to face Whitworth on Feb. 21.