Griz advance to semi with win over Idaho State

Thursday, April 28

Phoenix, Ariz.

9 AM (MT)

Montana

Idaho State

4/28/2022 3:02:00 PM | Men's Tennis

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By: Montana Sports Information

Montana tennis head coach Jason Brown's pre-match prognostications were correct. Win the doubles, and good things will come.

His Grizzlies did just that on Thursday, starting strong against Idaho State with a win in the opening round and riding the momentum to a 4-1 victory over the Bengals in the Big Sky tournament quarterfinal.

The win improves No. 4 Montana to 15-4 on the season, but more importantly moves the Griz into the semifinal for the first time since 2018, where UM is set to face the No. 1 seed Idaho Vandals.

"I feel really good about this team when we win doubles," said Brown. "We did a great job on all three courts today, and it really set the tone."

The Griz entered the conference tourney in a doubles slump, having lost six of the last nine opening points this season and two straight heading to Phoenix.

Montana righted the ship against the Bengals, however, with Gustav Theilgaard and Milo Benn once again pairing up for a 6-3 win over ISU's Fujita/Cankus pair on court three. UM then clinched the point soon after on court two, with Oisin Shaffrey and Lawrence Sciglitano beating ISU's Kristensen/Kramer pair 6-3.

On court one, Ed Pudney and Moritz Stoeger had built an early lead but were neck-and-neck with the Bengals' No. 74-ranked Trhac/Petrovic doubles pair, tied 5-5 when the point was clinched.

With a 1-0 lead heading into singles, Theilgaard got back in the win column with a straight-set win on court four over Ege Cankus (6-3, 6-2) for the freshman's first win over a conference opponent since the last time the Griz and Bengals squared off.

Fellow freshman Sam Baldwin also stepped up big for the Griz, beating Wikus Robbertse 6-4, 6-2 on court six to earn a win in his first match against a D-I opponent since February.

The pair of wins from the freshmen put UM in the driver's seat with a 3-0 lead, needing just one more to clinch the match.

"Those guys got off the court so quick. It was a really tough spot for any opposing team to be in," added Brown.

"Sam played brilliantly. Really had a great effort. Gustav looked like he did in February and didn't leave any doubt. He took care of business and really put them under pressure."

ISU got on the board on court one where Patrik Trhac got the best of Ed Pudney in a second-set tiebreaker, beating the Grizzly senior 6-1, 7-6 (4).

The Bengals' momentum didn't last long, however, with Sciglitano winning a second-set breaker of his own (6-2, 7-6 (5)) to clinch the match for the Grizzlies at 4-1.

The Griz now turn their attention to the Idaho Vandals, who received a first-round bye in Phoenix as the tournament's No. 1 seed.

Montana dropped its regular-season match to the Vandals 5-2 on the road in Idaho just two weeks ago on April 16. Now set to square off on a neutral court, the Grizzlies will look to the doubles once again after losing the opening point in that previous match.

Tournament bracket