Griz grit out impressive 6-1 win over Bengals

Saturday, April 2

Missoula, Mont.

9:30 AM

Montana

Idaho State

Photo by: Derek Johnson

4/2/2022 3:58:00 PM | Men's Tennis

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By: Montana Sports Information

A week ago, Ed Pudney limped off the court with a sprained ankle on his right leg, another sprained ankle on his left, and wounded pride from a three-set loss to his Weber State opponent.

Seven days later, he dominated one of the best players in the Big Sky – a player who will depart Idaho State for the Pac-12 as a grad transfer next season – to lead the Montana men's tennis team to a 6-1 win over the Bengals. Ankle pain be damned.

"From being on crutches earlier in the week, barely getting one practice in, and figuring out a way to do what he did is unbelievably inspiring to me as a coach and to his teammates," said UM head coach Jason Brown.

"Ed is a competitor and a gritty senior leader who said, hey, I'm going to be here for my team any way I can, and he did it on two really bad ankles. He didn't miss a beat and played one of his best matches of the year. I mean, it's incredible. I don't have enough superlatives for him."

With that gutsy effort from Pudney, the No. 71 Montana men's tennis team continued its winning ways Saturday, taking down Idaho State to move to 12-1 on the season and stay undefeated in Big Sky play at 4-0. The Griz are also now 27-2 when playing in Missoula since 2018 and 6-0 at home this season.

With the loss, ISU falls to 10-9 overall and 3-2 in conference play with less than a month to play before the Big Sky tournament.

Gallery: (4-2-2022) MTEN:: vs ISU 4.2.22

The Griz started the match with a win in the doubles round over a Bengal squad that has a huge upset under its belt, having beaten No. 2 Baylor in doubles earlier this season.

Montana then took that momentum and rattled off three straight-set singles wins on courts one, three, and four to clinch the team victory at 4-0 before finishing off two of the last three matches in a 6-1 final.

"That was a great win against an, obviously, great team. I thought we all took care of business in every position. Guys down low showed resilience through some tough matches, and guys up top took care of business and took some pressure off the other guys," said Pudney.

"It was just a great home performance. Once we got momentum, it showed that you need to do some special things to bet us at the Peak."

Idaho State started the match with an early advantage in the doubles round, with ISU's Patrik Trhac/Aleksander Petrovic pair, who had been ranked as high as No. 38 in the nation after the win over Baylor, taking a 6-3 win over Pudney and Oisin Shaffrey on court one.

But Montana took the momentum straight back, with Gustav Thielgaard and Milo Benn winning 6-3 on court three over ISU's Fujita/Cankus pair to improve to 8-1 on the season as a partnership.

Soon after, UM's Lawrence Sciglitano and Moritz Stoeger broke the stalemate and sealed the doubles win with a 6-3 victory over ISU's Kristensen/Kramer pair to put the Griz out to a 1-0 team lead.

Montana then cemented the momentum early in the singles round with three quick wins.

Still visibly not 100%, Pudney came out and was magnificent against Trhac on court one, using precise placement to outmatch the visitor's size and speed. In the end, brains beat brawn, with Pudney battling to a valiant 6-4, 6-1 win on court one that put Montana up 2-0.

"It really helped to have my teammates to lean on. If I had been out there by myself, it would have been a lot harder task. But having guys around me and supporting me made things a bit easier," Pudney added.

Fellow senior Oisin Shaffrey was the next to finish for the Griz, putting UM up 3-0 with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Andreas Kramer on court three.

Defending Big Sky Player of the Week Gustav Theilgaard then took care of business with a 6-4, 6-4 win on court four over Hiroki Fujita to clinch the match for the Grizzlies at 4-0. With the win, Theilgaard, a freshman, remained undefeated on the season at 10-0, having yet to lose a single set of tennis.

With the match in hand, Lawrence Sciglitano used the energy to bounce back from a first-set loss to pick up Montana's fourth win of the round, beating Petrovic 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 on court two to put the Griz up 5-0.

Moritz Stoeger finished off the winning for the Griz with a straight-set victory on court five, beating Ege Cankus 6-4, 7-6 (6) to give Montana a 6-0 lead.

Montana now turns its attention to the two-time defending Big Sky champion Northern Arizona Lumberjacks in a conference dual at the Peak on Sunday, with the doubles round getting underway at 10:30 a.m.

NAU (14-8, 2-2 BSC) comes to Missoula having lost three matches on the trot and having dropped the opening match of their Treasure State road swing at Montana State 3-4 after winning the doubles point and three first sets in the opening four singles matches.

Admission to the Peak is open to the public and free of charge.