Griz sweep LC State in doubleheader

Friday, March 26

Lewiston, Idaho

2 PM

Montana

Lewis-Clark State

3/26/2021 10:06:00 PM | Men's Tennis

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

By: Montana Sports Information

The Montana men's tennis team took care of business and got back in the win column with a doubleheader sweep of Lewis-Clark State in Lewiston, Idaho, Friday, cruising to a pair of victories: 7-0 in the first and 6-1 in the second.

Montana won 10 of its 12 singles matches in straight sets and didn't give up more than four games in any one doubles match, as the Griz overpowered the Warriors on their home courts.

The two wins improve the Griz to 5-8 on the season and halt a four-match skid that dates back to March 5. LC State, which started the season as the No. 23-ranked NAIA team in the country, falls to 2-8 on the year with one match remaining on its schedule.

"LC State is a much improved and well-coached team, and it was a good, competitive set of matches," said head coach Jason Brown.

"I think we played well. We rotated six different doubles teams, and everyone got a match. So, it was a good day."

In the opening match of the day, the Griz picked up their fifth doubles point of the season, sweeping the Warriors in each match to go up 1-0.

In the singles round, Pontus Hallgren, Moritz Stoeger, and Ed Pudney each rolled to straight-sets wins on courts three, four, and one, respectively, to clinch the win with three courts left to play.

Junior Milo Benn was the only Grizzly forced to play a third set. Playing the first match of his career at UM in the No. 2 position, Benn raced out to a 6-2 win in the first set but dropped the second 4-6. The New Zealander then bounced back with a 6-3 win in the third to claim the victory.

In the nightcap of the doubleheader, the Griz started strong once again with a sweep of the doubles round.

Senior Chase Bartlett was the first Grizzly to finish in the singles round, easing to a 6-3, 6-1 win over Andre Du Plessis on court four to put UM up 2-0.

In his second match of the day, Benn moved to center court and had no trouble this time around, rolling 6-1, 6-2 for his first win on the No. 1 court to put the Griz up 3-0.

Oisin Shaffrey clinched the match for the Griz on court three with 6-2, 6-2 wins in straight sets, Putting UM up for good at 4-0.

Montana now turns its attention to the Gonzaga on Sunday, with UM traveling to Spokane to take on the Bulldogs at the Stevens Tennis Center.

Gonzaga enters the match, having recently been ranked the No. 62 team in the nation in the latest ITA Rankings at 11-3, tied the highest ranking in GU program history.

"We've got nothing to lose going in there," said Brown. "You can't ask for a better opportunity to prepare for the rest of the Big Sky."

Opening serves from Spokane go up at Noon (MT) on Sunday, with links to live streaming and live scoring available at GoGriz.com.