Montana upsets Boise State 4-3 to earn historic win

Friday, February 4

Boise, Idaho

5 PM

Montana

Boise State

Photo by: Derek Johnson

Montana upsets Boise State 4-3 to earn historic win

2/4/2022 10:24:00 PM | Men's Tennis

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By: Montana Sports Information

The Montana men's tennis team hung on to earn one of the biggest wins in program history Friday, defeating Boise State 4-3 for the first time in over 20 years at the Boas Indoor Tennis Center in Boise.

Not since Montana and Boise were both members of the Big Sky Conference in the early '90s had Griz beaten the Broncos – the same BSU team who went 17-3 and finished second in the Mountain West Conference a year ago.

With some near misses in the last three years, the Griz played spoiler in the Bronco's home opener with a win in the doubles round and a come-from-behind win from senior Ed Pudney in singles to seal the victory.

The Griz now improve to 3-0 on the season, with two of those wins coming over Mountain West Conference teams after Montana defeated Air Force 4-3 in January. Boise State, meanwhile, falls to 2-4.

"It was a just great college tennis match. Winning on the road is really tricky. It's cause for celebration when you do it against programs that aren't as storied or talented as Boise State. So, this win is extra special," said head coach Jason Brown.

"Boise is a really good, well-coached team. Our guys showed a ton of heart and grit and really bonded together. I'm really proud of the effort today."

Montana opened the match with a bang, getting out to an early 1-0 team lead with a win in the doubles round.

The freshman/senior pair of Gustav Theilgaard and Milo Benn led wire to wire in a 6-4 win on court three to open the scoring for the Griz.

The experience of seniors Ed Pudney and Oisin Shaffrey then shone through on court one, with UM's top doubles duo taking a narrow 6-4 win to secure the opening point and put the momentum squarely in Montana's court.

Not long after, Theilgaard got the first singles win of the day for the Griz, taking the first set 6-4 before winning by retirement over BSU's Michael Bott in the second to put UM up 2-0 overall.

Shaffrey then extended the Grizzly lead to 3-0 on court three, cruising to a 6-2, 6-4 straight-sets win over Caden Moortgat, and on paper, it looked as if the Griz were in control.

The Broncos would come roaring back, however, taking wins on courts two and six to cut into UM's lead, 3-2.

Needing just one out of two remaining matches to seal the team win, victory wasn't assured for the Griz, with Pudney and sophomore Moritz Stoeger each falling behind early after dropping their first set.

With the pressure on, Pudney, playing against the two-time defending Mountain West Conference Freshman of the Week Pedro Liborio, dropped his first set 3-6 but rebounded in the second to win 6-4.

From there, the Grizzly senior kept the pedal down, cruising to a 6-1 win in the third to put Montana up for good. While Stoeger would go on to lose his match in the third after cramping up, his second-set win helped give Pudney the momentum he needed to seal the deal.

"Those two guys fighting back in the second set is what led us to the win. No doubt about it," said Brown.

"They were battling, the pressure was on, and they really responded in the second set. You could feel the tide turn after that."

The Grizzlies will have a short turnaround time before taking the courts again, with Montana and Seattle University set to play in a neutral site dual on Saturday morning at 10 a.m. in Boise.