Griz return to road with momentum on their side

At the start of the spring season, the Montana men's tennis team had five matches circled on their schedule where they knew they'd be going in as underdogs and were looking to pull off an upset in at least one of them.

Ticked that box on the last try.

Fresh off one of the biggest wins in school history over No. 62 Gonzaga, the Grizzlies return to action this week brimming with momentum as they return to the road for two final non-conference tune-ups before the business end of the season rolls around.

"We always talk about that we want to peak in April. It took a little while to come together, but we feel like we played a really good match at the end of March," said head coach Jason Brown.

"Coaches always talk about sticking to the process and improving and not worrying so much about results. That only stays true if you get some wins. So, we needed it, and I feel like it was time for us."

Montana heads south this week to Pocatello for a pair of matches on April 3 and 4. The first: a neutral site match against the Air Force Falcons (4-7) on Saturday. The second: a rare out-of-conference tussle with old foe Idaho State (4-9, 0-1 BSC) that could be a preview of things to come at the Big Sky tourney in Phoenix.

Montana enters the weekend at 6-8 this season and 0-1 in conference play after falling to Portland State on March 21. But the Griz are coming in hot, riding a three-match win streak after sweeping Lewis-Clark State and upsetting a nationally ranked team for the first time in program history.

After this week's road trip, the Griz then return home for three crucial weekends of conference play that will determine if UM is to claim one of the top two spots in the Big Sky north division necessary to book a ticket to the conference championship.

With a streak of 29 consecutive trips to the league's tourney on the line, it will be crucial for the Griz to keep the ball rolling in Pocatello and dial in on the details.

"I'm excited just to go get to compete a little bit, and like we did at Gonzaga, just try to build some more momentum," added Brown.

"Whether we win both matches or not, we're just looking to build momentum individually and with doubles and make sure we're ready when we return home for conference play."

Montana last faced Air Force in 2019 when the Griz traveled to the Academy in Colorado Springs and gave the Zoomies all they could handle, with then-freshmen Oisin Shaffrey and Ed Pudney taking wins in a 4-3 UM loss.

Air Force enters the match having lost three straight but has already claimed a 5-2 win over Weber State, who previously beat the Grizzlies in Vegas earlier this year.

Under first-year head coach Alexander Free, Idaho State has had seen mixed results with some surprising wins, with the Bengals now chasing the No. 2 spot in the Big Sky south division after falling at Northern Arizona last week 6-1.

ISU took a total of six individual matches in three duals against Utah and Utah State, falling 5-2 in each, and before losing to NAU, were winners of three-straight against Eastern Washington, Montana State, and Grand Canyon.

The Griz last faced the Bengals in Missoula in 2019, with Montana bouncing back from a loss in doubles to win five of the six singles matches for a 5-2 dual win.

Links to live scoring and video for the ISU match can be found at GoGriz.com.

Following the weekend trip to Pocatello, the Griz return to Missoula to face Idaho on April 9, followed by Eastern Washington and Weber State on April 17 and 18. UM then wraps up the regular season on April 24 at home against Montana State.

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Players Mentioned

Ed Pudney

Oisin Shaffrey

University of Montana Athletics