Griz bounce back to shut-out Eagles 7-0

Saturday, March 19

Cheney, Wash.

2 PM (MT)

Montana

Eastern Washington

3/19/2022 9:40:00 PM | Men's Tennis

Box Score

By: Montana Sports Information

The Montana men's tennis team rebounded from a loss on Friday to beat Eastern Washington 7-0 in Cheney Saturday, improving to 2-0 in Big Sky Conference play and 10-1 on the season.

The win puts No. 62 Montana back in the win column after dropping its first match of the season to the No. 52 Gonzaga Bulldogs in Spokane.

It was the second win for UM over EWU this season, with the Griz dominating 7-0 in a nonconference match in January for the season-opener in Missoula.

But this time was different.

Eastern entered the match with confidence, having pushed Boise State to a near-upset on Friday.

Montana was also forced to play a man down at EWU, with senior No. 1 Ed Pudney pulling out with an injury in the pre-match warmup.

However, the team rallied around the loss with the Griz lineup sliding up a spot and not missing a beat, taking straight-set wins on five of the six singles courts after eking out a win in the doubles round.

"The thing to take away from this is the fact that we lose, in my mind, the best player in the conference, and everyone steps up. Everyone moves up a slot, and everyone wins. For my money, this might have been our best match of the season," said head coach Jason Brown.

"And not because we played our best, but because of the response. Playing on the road against a team with nothing to lose, it was really, really, good stuff from our guys today."

The Eagles started the doubles round ahead, picking up a win on court two to put the Griz under pressure, with UM's Pontus Hallgren/Lawrence Sciglitano pair falling to EWU's Doumen/Balce duo 4-6.

With Pudney out, fellow senior Milo Benn moved to the No. 1 court with Oisin Shaffrey and picked up the first win for the Griz, 6-4 over the Eagles' Mueller/Sarlvik pair.

With the opening point on the line, Moritz Stoeger and Gustav Theilgaard took care of business in a nail-biter, winning 7-6 to clinch the opening point for the Griz.

In singles play, Montana rode the momentum of the doubles round with three quick wins in straight sets to seal the victory at 4-0, and eventually closing out the 7-0 win.

Moritz Stoeger got his first win after returning from injury and the first of the day for the Griz, cruising past Erik Sarlvik 6-2, 6-2, to put UM up 2-0.

Oisin Shaffrey then earned a straight-set win on court two, beating Douman 6-4, 6-3, to put the Griz up 3-0.

Playing his first match on court one as a Grizzly, Sciglitano then eased to a 6-4, 6-3 win over Wout Doumen to clinch the win for UM as the fourth victory of the day.

After the match was clinched, Montana completed the sweep with wins from Theilgaard, who remains undefeated on the season at 8-0, Benn winning over Erik Sarlvik in a superbreaker 4-6, 6-1, 10-4, and Pontus Hallgren defeating Drew Dillon 6-3, 6-1 on court six.

Montana now prepares to enter the meat of its Big Sky schedule, with a prime opportunity in front of them with four-straight matches at home in the friendly confines of the Peak Racquet Club where UM has not lost a match in over two years.

Next up is Weber State, with the Wildcats visiting UM on Saturday, March 26, at 4 p.m. Weber is 6-10 overall this season and 2-1 in league play, coming off a 4-3 win over Idaho in Ogden on Saturday.

Montana vs. Eastern Washington

Doubles Results
Oisin Shaffrey / Milo Benn def. Jeremy Mueller/Erik Sarlvik (6-4)
Manuel Balce/Wout Doumen def. Lawrence Sciglitano / Pontus Hallgren (6-4)
Gustav Theilgaard/ Moritz Stoeger def. Brady Thomas/Drew Dillon (7-6)

Singles Results
Lawrence Sciglitano def. Jeremy Mueller (6-2, 6-3)
Oisin Shaffrey def. Wout Doumen (6-4, 6-3)
Gustav Theilgaard def. Manuel Balce (6-4, 6-2)
Moritz Stoeger def. Steven Paz (6-2, 6-2)
Milo Benn def. Erik Sarlvik (4-6, 6-1, 10-4)
Pontus Hallgren def. Drew Dillon (6-3, 6-1)