Montana assistants helping Griz carry on culture of success

The Montana men's tennis team moved back up to No. 62 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's national rankings after dipping to No. 69 last week, the ITA announced Wednesday.

At 9-0, the Grizzlies are the only undefeated team left among the top-75 D-I programs in the country – a place where UM has remained now for four-straight weeks while getting off to the best start to a season in program history.

With a senior-laden squad, head coach Jason Brown has the Griz rolling. But he's not doing it alone.

This year's Grizzlies have benefitted from the added wisdom and experience of a pair of assistant coaches who have been there, and done that. And they've done it in maroon and silver, understanding the team's expectations for itself first-hand.

Chase Bartlett came to Montana as a D-II All-American grad transfer in 2020 to finish his playing career with the Grizzlies and get into the coaching world as a graduate assistant under Brown.

Ethan Vaughn, a 2014 Big Sky Champion at Montana who recently moved back to Missoula after working as a club professional in Seattle, has also joined the program as a volunteer assistant.

Between the two additional sets of eyes and the strength and conditioning help of UM grad assistant Andrew Berrier, the Griz are poised to make another run at a conference championship and perhaps much more in 2022.

"The help these guys have been to the program is just immeasurable," said Brown.

"Not only are these guys knowledgeable, they were both great players here and love Griz tennis. That really shows with their passion in training, wanting to help the guys get extra work, and really just being a different voice with different ideas to help the guys. Their only goal is to make the program better, and I couldn't measure it if I wanted to."

Likewise for the assistants, helping bring experience as both players and coaches to the court this season has paid off for them personally, with the added gratitude in helping perpetuate a culture they helped build.

While serving as a GA, Bartlett is in the final stages of completing his MBA from the University of Montana College of Business. Upon graduation, he's poised to start his own tech company that delivers personalized online tennis coaching to any player at any time.

Now as a player-turned-coach, he's learning just how one experience can help the other.

"Coaching has been a really cool experience because I've gotten to form really good relationships with the guys since I played alongside them," said Bartlett.

"I feel like I understand all the challenges that the guys face playing against them, their weaknesses, and their strengths. So, when they're in match situations, I can really give specific advice to help bring out the best in them and figure out what it is we need to do to win that match and what we need to do to improve in practice."

Vaughn is one of the few players in Montana history that can say they've brought home the hardware.

In 2010 he came to Montana out of Mead High School in Spokane and helped lead the team to the 2014 Big Sky Conference tournament championship – the first and only title in program history.

As a two-time All-Big Sky pick under the tutelage of legendary UM coach Kris Nord, he later became a Pro at a club in Seattle and cut his teeth in the coaching world while his wife finished grad school at Washington.

Now back in Missoula, Vaughn says he's hoping to help instill the same values, camaraderie, and standards that Nord helped instill in him and his teammates during their championship years.

"I think the culture is really good here, and Jason has done a great job. It's been incredible to be back in the college atmosphere," said Vaughn.

"It's a culture of hard work and accountability for these guys where they are all-in, and they know what the goal is. There's no having to sell the goal. They're committing to a culture of working hard, being accountable, coming to practice, but having fun too.

"I think that's been my emphasis because we had a great combination of really hard work during my time, but we had so much fun at practice. So, I've tried to encourage that because I know just from my perspective, it's such a long season and a long, four years."

Whatever they're doing, it seems to be working. Montana entered the national rankings for the first time ever in February after taking upset wins over Air Force and Boise State.

Next up: Brown, Bartlett, Vaughn, and the entire Griz squad will face one of their biggest challenges of the season when they travel to Spokane to face the No. 52 Gonzaga Bulldogs then look to move to 2-0 in Big Sky play at Eastern Washington.

Following the trip to Washington, the Griz return home for four-straight matches in Missoula, where they have gone 25-2 under Brown.

University of Montana Athletics

Montana assistants helping Griz carry on culture of success

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