Shaffrey earns first team honors while Stoeger/Martin recognized in doubles
5/7/2021 11:55:00 AM | Men's Tennis
After going an undefeated 4-0 in league play and a team-best 10-6 overall in singles, Montana junior Oisin Shaffrey earned first-team All-Big Sky honors Friday, while UM freshmen Moritz Stoeger and Guillermo Martin earned an all-conference honorable mention as a doubles pair.
Since arriving in Missoula three years ago Shaffrey has been one of the Grizzlies most consistent performers, now with two-straight undefeated seasons in Big Sky play and a career 13-3 conference record in singles.
Against all odds, he finished the year winning seven of his final eight singles matches of the season, taking upsets over opponents from Portland and Air Force in the process.
"I'm just incredibly happy for him. A lot of people don't know he didn't hit a backhand for the final three months of the season in practice, only in matches, because he was injured," said head coach Jason Brown.
"He was rock-solid in all our important matches, had some big nonconference wins, and did everything that was asked of him all year long."
Both as individuals and as a pair Stoeger and Martin were fabulous freshmen doubles duo for the Griz in their first seasons in maroon and silver.
Individually, Stoeger posted UM's most doubles wins at 10-5, while Martin gave up just one doubles match at 6-1 overall on the season.
After shuffling the doubles lineup early in the season, when Brown paired them up they went undefeated at 2-0 and finished 4-1 overall as a pair.
"I should have put them together sooner. They both had stellar winning record individually in doubles, were undefeated in conference, so I love they get some recognition for how good those guys are going to be over the course of their Grizzly careers, because I think this is just the start for both of them," added Brown.
At 3-1 in Big Sky play and 9-10 overall, the Grizzlies narrowly missed out on a trip to the Big Sky tourney in 2021, and are set to return all but one player from this year's squad, setting up a an experienced outfit in 2022.
First Team Singles
Oisin Shaffrey, Montana
Francisco Bascon, Idaho
Mark Keki, Sacramento State
Sebastian Buxman, Weber State
Eban Straker-Meads, Northern Arizona
Nikola Dimitrijevic, Portland State
Second Team Singles
Brad Buckland, Montana State
Kris Van Wyk, Weber State
Bruno Casino, Idaho
Matteo Fortini, Portland State
Hiroki Fujita, Idaho State
Jaime Castillo-Lopez, Idaho State
Chris Steele, Northern Arizona
Honorable Mention Singles
Facundo Tumosa, Northern Arizona
Tommy Edwards, Portland State
First Team Doubles
Trhac/Petrovic, Idaho State
Casino/Bascon, Idaho
Keki/Liles, Sacramento State
Second Team Doubles
Van Dijk/Sitar, Montana State
Edwards/Fortini, Portland State
Ziomber/Dillon, Northern Arizona
Honorable Mention Doubles
Stoeger/Martin, Montana
Castillo-Lopez/Rendek, Idaho State
Roberts/Hsu, Portland State
Individual Award Winners
Most Valuable Player – Francisco Bascon, Idaho
Freshman of the Year – Mark Keki, Sacramento State
Since arriving in Missoula three years ago Shaffrey has been one of the Grizzlies most consistent performers, now with two-straight undefeated seasons in Big Sky play and a career 13-3 conference record in singles.
Against all odds, he finished the year winning seven of his final eight singles matches of the season, taking upsets over opponents from Portland and Air Force in the process.
"I'm just incredibly happy for him. A lot of people don't know he didn't hit a backhand for the final three months of the season in practice, only in matches, because he was injured," said head coach Jason Brown.
"He was rock-solid in all our important matches, had some big nonconference wins, and did everything that was asked of him all year long."
Both as individuals and as a pair Stoeger and Martin were fabulous freshmen doubles duo for the Griz in their first seasons in maroon and silver.
Individually, Stoeger posted UM's most doubles wins at 10-5, while Martin gave up just one doubles match at 6-1 overall on the season.
After shuffling the doubles lineup early in the season, when Brown paired them up they went undefeated at 2-0 and finished 4-1 overall as a pair.
"I should have put them together sooner. They both had stellar winning record individually in doubles, were undefeated in conference, so I love they get some recognition for how good those guys are going to be over the course of their Grizzly careers, because I think this is just the start for both of them," added Brown.
At 3-1 in Big Sky play and 9-10 overall, the Grizzlies narrowly missed out on a trip to the Big Sky tourney in 2021, and are set to return all but one player from this year's squad, setting up a an experienced outfit in 2022.
First Team Singles
Oisin Shaffrey, Montana
Francisco Bascon, Idaho
Mark Keki, Sacramento State
Sebastian Buxman, Weber State
Eban Straker-Meads, Northern Arizona
Nikola Dimitrijevic, Portland State
Second Team Singles
Brad Buckland, Montana State
Kris Van Wyk, Weber State
Bruno Casino, Idaho
Matteo Fortini, Portland State
Hiroki Fujita, Idaho State
Jaime Castillo-Lopez, Idaho State
Chris Steele, Northern Arizona
Honorable Mention Singles
Facundo Tumosa, Northern Arizona
Tommy Edwards, Portland State
First Team Doubles
Trhac/Petrovic, Idaho State
Casino/Bascon, Idaho
Keki/Liles, Sacramento State
Second Team Doubles
Van Dijk/Sitar, Montana State
Edwards/Fortini, Portland State
Ziomber/Dillon, Northern Arizona
Honorable Mention Doubles
Stoeger/Martin, Montana
Castillo-Lopez/Rendek, Idaho State
Roberts/Hsu, Portland State
Individual Award Winners
Most Valuable Player – Francisco Bascon, Idaho
Freshman of the Year – Mark Keki, Sacramento State
Players Mentioned
Monday, August 17
Monday, August 10
Monday, August 03
Friday, June 19
