Slow start dooms Griz in 6-1 loss to Portland State

Sunday, March 21

Portland, Ore.

NOON

Montana

Portland State

Slow start dooms Griz in 6-1 loss to Portland State

3/21/2021 4:42:00 PM | Men's Tennis

Box Score

By: Montana Sports Information

The Montana men's tennis team dropped its opening Big Sky Conference match of the season, falling to Portland State 6-1 at the Babette Horenstein Tennis Center in Portland Sunday.

The Grizzlies lost the two-straight doubles matches in a slow start against the Vikings and couldn't capitalize on chances in singles, with Oisin Shaffrey getting UM's only win court two and the Griz losing two other matches in a third set.

After falling to the University of Portland on Saturday, the Grizzlies now return to Missoula with two losses from their weekend trip to Oregon, and sit at 3-8 on the season and 0-1 in conference play.

Meanwhile, the Vikings improve to 7-5 overall and 3-0 in league play and look to be in a position to claim one of the top-two seeds in the Big Sky's north division that will earn them a ticket to the conference championship in Phoenix in May.

"We seem to be consistently finding ways to lose close matches, and as the coach, I need to find ways to help us reach our potential," said head coach Jason Brown.

"Portland State is good, but we had our chances. We came out slow in doubles, then we'd lose a deuce point here, and a momentum switch there in singles."

One of Montana's most consistent players over the last two years, Shaffrey picked up the lone win for the Griz to go 2-0 as an individual over the weekend, with both wins coming in straight sets.

The native of Dublin, Ireland, played the spoiler against PSU's Tommy Edwards, with the Viking senior entering the day needing just one more victory to become Portland State's all-time winningest player at 45 singles wins.

The UM standout had other ideas, however, and swept Edwards 6-3, 7-5 to improve to 5-5 overall on the season. After going 9-2 in spring duals as a sophomore and 13-8 his freshman year, he now sits at 27-15 overall and 10-3 in Big Sky play in his career, with eight more guaranteed matches left to play in his junior season.

In other highlights for the Griz, Milo Benn won his first set but couldn't hold on as PSU's Nikola Dimitrijevic bounced back for a 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 win on court three.

After winning a marathon three-setter against Portland on Saturday, freshman Moritz Stoeger also couldn't hold on to a first-set win, taking an early lead before falling to PSU's Sam Roberts 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 on court six.

The Grizzlies will now look to get back in the win column as they prepare to travel to Lewiston, Idaho, on Friday, March 26, to take on Lewis-Clark State in a Friday doubleheader before heading north to Spokane for a one-off dual against Gonzaga on Sunday to cap the weekend.

Montana returns to conference play on April 9 with a crucial match against the Idaho Vandals in Missoula – the first of three Big Sky matches at home that all hold postseason implications.

"I still believe in this team. I think we're capable of winning the Big Sky, we just need to play to our potential, and with three conference matches left at home, I think we control our own destiny."

Montana vs Portland State (3/21/2021)
Portland State 6, Montana 1
3/21/2021 at Portland State (THPRD)

Singles competition
1. Matteo Fortini (PSU) def. PUDNEY, Ed (UM) 6-4, 6-3
2. SHAFFREY, Oisin (UM) def. Tommy Edwards (PSU) 6-3, 7-5
3. Nikola Dimitrijevic (PSU) def. BENN, Milo (UM) 5-7, 6-3, 6-4
4. Tommy Hsu (PSU) def. BARTLETT, Chase (UM) 6-2, 6-2
5. Nils Plutat (PSU) def. MARTIN, Guillermo (UM) 6-4, 6-4
6. Sam Roberts (PSU) def. STOEGER, Moritz (UM) 4-6, 6-3, 6-4

Doubles competition
1. Matteo Fortini/Tommy Edwards (PSU) vs. PUDNEY, Ed/BENN, Milo (UM) unfinished
2. Sam Roberts/Tommy Hsu (PSU) def. SHAFFREY, Oisin/HALLGREN, Pontus (UM) 6-3
3. Nikola Dimitrijevic/Bryan Husin (PSU) def. BARTLETT, Chase/STOEGER, Moritz (UM) 6-2

Match Notes
Montana 3-8, 0-1
Portland State 7-5, 3-0
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (4,2,1,5,6,3)