Griz looking to keep momentum against Eagles Saturday

Back in January, the Montana men's tennis team took a look at the schedule and circled the April 9 match against Idaho in Missoula as a make-or-break battle that would likely have postseason implications.

Turns out they were spot-on.

After beating the Vandals 4-3, the Grizzlies' stock is on the rise as Montana prepares to host Eastern Washington Saturday at the Peak Racquet Club for the penultimate regular-season match of the year.

Sitting at No. 3 in the Big Sky north standings, UM now holds the tiebreaker over No. 2 Idaho, and the Grizzlies' upward trajectory is coming at the right time. Montana's final two matches of the year will be played on their home courts, where they have now won nine-straight, and going two-for-two over the next two weeks will clinch them a place in the conference tourney.

"We thought that the Idaho match was going to be a key moment in the season – one direction or the other. That win allows us to effectively put things in our own control," said head coach Jason Brown.

"Now everybody is ready to go and knows the importance of it. We know we're one match away from not getting to compete for a title, but we're also four matches away from winning a title and fulfilling what we thought the potential of this team was."

But before beating Idaho, the Grizzlies were holding a mixed bag of postseason prospects.

On one hand, they had just upset the No. 62 ranked Gonzaga Bulldogs. On the other, they followed that up with a pair of disappointing nonconference losses to Air Force and Idaho State.

"I think the win against Idaho last weekend really fueled us and made us see the possibility of us actually going to conference because it felt pretty far away when we came back from Pocatello," said junior Pontus Hallgren.

"But now, we realize we're two wins away from making it to Phoenix. The lads are pumped, and practice has been really good lately."

Montana hosts the Eagles on Saturday, April 17, at the Peak, with opening serves going up at noon. Follow the Grizzlies @MontanaGrizMTEN on Twitter for live updates.

GRIZ TRACKS: Hallgren enters Saturday's match at 3-2 at court five on the season, coming off a sweep of his opponents against Idaho as the only Grizzly to win in both doubles and singles.

• Junior Oisin Shaffrey has accumulated Montana's best overall singles record for a second-straight season at 8-6 on the year and 6-5 on court two, anchoring the top of the Grizzly lineup with consistent wins.

• Freshman Guillermo Martin put in the heroics for Montana last week, clinching the win over Idaho with a 7-6(3), 7-5 win on court six that gave the team win to the Griz. It was the first clinch of his college career.

• Montana's other fabulous freshman Moritz Stoeger is carrying Montanan's second-best overall record at 7-5 this season and has been rock solid on court four, specifically, at 4-1.

• The Griz are 3-0 at home this year, and posted a perfect 4-0 home record last season, and are looking to go two straight years without a loss in Missoula.

Going back to 2014 when they won the Big Sky title, the Grizzlies are 44-9 while playing at home.

• Doubles trouble: Montana has been searching all season for the right mix in the doubles round, with the Griz taking the crucial opening point only three times against division one opponents this season.

• Montana opened its season with an upset win over Grand Canyon, which, after starting the year 0-7, has flipped their season around to pick up wins over a highly touted Sacramento State squad, New Mexico State, Seattle U, and UC Riverside.

SCOUTING EWU: While Eastern Washington comes to Missoula at 0-11 on the season, head coach Jared Burnham – the longtime head coach at Montana State – has kept the Eagles competitive in a difficult schedule.

The winless Eagles have yet to play a non-D-I opponent and have had close calls with Omaha, Idaho State, and league-leading Portland State.

"They're well-coached, and I think they're better than their record," said Brown.

"They definitely have some talent and have some guys who play big tennis, and they're going to put it all together at some point."

Griz looking to keep momentum against Eagles Saturday

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Players Mentioned

Pontus Hallgren

Guillermo Martin

Oisin Shaffrey

Moritz Stoeger

University of Montana Athletics