Big-time Brawl of the Wild match on tap for Griz tennis

Griz versus Cats for a shot at a Big Sky title, a top-two seed in the conference tourney, and Brawl of the Wild bragging rights?

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The Montana men's tennis team travels to Bozeman on Saturday as the regular season reaches its zenith in one match for all the marbles. Or at least a share of the marbles.

The No. 3 Grizzlies (5-2 Big Sky, 14-3 overall) face No. 1 Montana State (6-1 Big Sky, 16-7 overall) at the Bobcat-Anderson Tennis Center on April 23 at 4 p.m. in a match that will go a long way toward settling the dust at the top of the league standings.

With four teams entering the final weekend of play who could win at least a share of the Big Sky regular-season title, all eyes will be on Bozeman as the Griz look to knock the Cats out of title contention.

Coming off a 5-2 loss at Idaho last week, the Griz are also in rebound mode, looking to reclaim the form that earned them two Mountain West teams and got them ranked as high as No. 62 in the nation earlier this season.

"I think we have a team that can sometimes want it too much. That wants the win more than enjoying the process and enjoying what we're doing. Well, our success this season has come when we enjoy the process, so that's what we've been talking about this week. Wanting to beat the Bobcats is never an issue for any Grizzly team," said head coach Jason Brown.

"I really like that we get to go to Bozeman for a match that means something, to enjoy the battle, and be challenged by the Bobcats in a way that maybe hasn't been the trend over the last decade. They've got a great team. They're undefeated at home, and we'd like nothing more than a chance to not let them finish that way."

// IMPLICATIONS// With Montana, Montana State, Idaho, and Northern Arizona each in the mix for a title, there is much to be determined this week.

MSU and Idaho each sit at 6-1, meaning the Griz will need a win over the Cats and will look to 1-6 Portland State to pull off an upset over the Vandals in Portland for UM to clinch a share of the regular-season title.

If NAU picks up a win over Idaho State in Flagstaff, it will set up a four-way tie at the top with four co-champions, each with a 6-2 conference record. A win for MSU and Idaho would put them both at 7-1 and settle as co-champions.

Seeding for the tournament then takes priority with a four-way tie scenario, with the Griz still able to rise above the fray using scoring percentage, needing a 5-2-or-better win at MSU as the tiebreaker to get the No. 1 seed.

However, the math shakes out, it's just win baby for the Griz if they are to hang a banner this season and earn a top seed at the tourney.

"I think if we play our best, things will go our way. You don't always control what shows up on a Saturday afternoon in Bozeman, but we've put ourselves in a good position to have it show up," Brown added.

"We're excited about the challenge and hopefully building some momentum heading down to Phoenix for the conference tourney."

// GRIZ TRACKS // Montana last faced Montana State nearly a year ago to the day, with the Griz winning 5-2 at the Peak Racquet Club in Missoula. The Griz won the doubles point and got singles wins from Ed Pudney, Oisin Shaffrey, Pontus Hallgren, and Guillermo Martin – each of whom returned to this year's roster.

• The Griz have won nine of the last ten meetings between the two rivals, but when they last played in Bozeman it was a different story, with the Cats beating UM 4-3 on MSU's outdoor courts in 2019.

• Montana has three players with six-or-more singles wins in Big Sky action to date. Sophomore Moritz Stoeger is 6-0 in conference play and is on a seven-match win streak after a marathon three-set, three-tiebreaker win at Idaho. Shaffrey and junior newcomer Lawrence Sciglitano each enter the weekend at 6-1 in league matches.

• Sciglitano now has the best overall winning percentage in the conference at 11-2 (.846) in singles this season. Freshman Gustav Theilgaard and Pudney are tied for the second-best win percentage in the league, each at 11-3 (.786) on the year.

• Pudney's record of 11-3 is the best on court one in the conference.

// SCOUTING THE CATS // In head-to-head comparisons, both teams are fairly similar. Montana State got the better of Northern Arizona in Bozeman this season, winning 4-3 in a nail-biter. In turn, the Lumberjacks got the better of the Griz just two days later in an equally thrilling match.

• Like the Griz, MSU also lost to Idaho 2-5 in Lewiston but was unable to squeeze out upsets over Air Force or Boise State like UM did, falling to the Falcons 2-5 and Broncos 3-4.

• MSU's top doubles pair of Jamieson Nathan and Matej Panik enters the week ranked No. 70 in the ITA's top-90 doubles rankings, up from No. 81 a week ago. Nathan and Panik are 5-3 as a pair on the season but have lost two straight matches against Idaho and Sac State.
• MSU is led by second-year head coach Trey Morris, who posted a 5-4 record in his first season and has kept the Cats undefeated at home this season.

• Senior Joaquin Espinoza holds MSU's top singles record at 14-4, while junior Nejic Sitar sits close behind at 13-5 and sophomore Daan Van Dijk is at 13-7.

UP NEXT: No matter the outcome of Saturday's dual, the Griz will return to the Big Sky Conference championship tourney in Phoenix, Arizona, as one of the league's top-six seeds next week after narrowly missing out in 2021.

The Big Sky Championship is held at the Phoenix Tennis Center and runs April 28-30. The winner of the tournament receives the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Montana last advanced to the NCAA tourney in 2014, where they faced Oklahoma after winning the Big Sky title.

Big-time Brawl of the Wild match on tap for Griz tennis

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Players Mentioned

Pontus Hallgren

Guillermo Martin

Ed Pudney

Lawrence Sciglitano

Oisin Shaffrey

Moritz Stoeger

Gustav Theilgaard

University of Montana Athletics