Vandals bounce back, top Griz in Big Sky semifinal

Friday, April 29

Phoenix, Ariz.

9 AM (MT)

Montana

Idaho

4/29/2022 3:01:00 PM | Men's Tennis

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By: Montana Sports Information

The Montana men's tennis team got the result they wanted in doubles but couldn't hold on in singles as the Grizzlies fell to the Idaho Vandals 4-1 in the semifinal round of the Big Sky championship tournament in Phoenix on Friday.

The No. 4 Griz went two-for-three to take a narrow win against the No. 1 seed Vandals in doubles, but Idaho recaptured the momentum with three straight-set wins in the singles round to advance to the title match.

The loss caps an otherwise historic season for Montana. At 15-5 (5-3 BSC), the 2022 Griz posted the second-most overall wins ever at UM, second only to 2012's Big Sky regular-season champion team that went 16-5 on the year.

The Griz also closed the year having spent seven weeks in the ITA national rankings for the first time in program history. With notable upsets over Boise State and Air Force, UM also logged a team-record five Big Sky Player of the Week awards.

"Idaho was the better team today. If a team can beat our top-four players, they deserve the victory," said head coach Jason Brown.

"They came out on fire in singles. We got up a set on three courts but weren't able to finish. They started ticking off matches at one and two, and momentum just slipped away. But as usual, I couldn't ask for a better, more professional effort from our guys.

"We had a record-setting year in many ways, and we have a lot to be proud of. I told them afterward that one match doesn't define a season. We did a million great things and represented the university in an outstanding way. It's a tragedy we couldn't get it done, but there's no shame in losing to the number one team."

The Griz started behind in doubles, with Ed Pudney and Moritz Stoeger falling early to Idaho's Bascon/Casino pair 2-6.

The Vandal lead wouldn't last long, however, as the Griz picked up wins on courts two and three, with each needing an extra frame of play to determine a winner, and each decided by a double-fault from the Vandals.

Oisin Shaffrey and Lawrence Sciglitano evened the score with a 7-5 win on court two, and shortly after Gustav Theilgaard and Milo Benn clinched the opening point for UM with another 7-5 win over Idaho's Gay/Garza pair on three.

Montana couldn't keep the momentum going in singles, however.

Idaho's Francisco Gay made quick work of Sciglitano 6-1, 6-2, to level the team score 1-1 and the Vandals soon took the lead with a straight-set win over Pudney from Francisco Bascon on court one (6-3, 6-2).

The Vandals picked up more momentum on court four, with Matteo Masala winning a first-set tiebreaker over Theilgaard on the way to a straight-set win (7-6(6), 6-3) that put the top-seed team up 3-1 and in the driver's seat.

Playing his final match as a Grizzly, Shaffrey took an early lead over Bruno Casino on court three with a strong first set but dropped two more in short order to fall 1-6, 6-3, 6-1 and clinch the win for Idaho.

Meanwhile, Stoeger and freshman Sam Baldwin were closing in on wins on courts five and six when play was stopped. Stoeger got a first-set win and was tied in the third 6-4, 3-6, 5-5, when play was stopped, while Baldwin was leading 6-4, 1-6, 4-1, but was unable to finish.

Montana will now say goodbye to four seniors who left lasting legacies in maroon and silver.

Oisin Shaffrey was named the 2022 Grizzly Cup winner for Montana's top overall student-athlete earlier in the week after a stellar career in the Big Sky with a 19-5 overall record, having won 15-straight league matches between 2019 and 2022.

Ed Pudney departs Montana as a candidate for the most-improved senior in the ITA Mountain Region this season, closing his account with an overall 23-6 singles record in tournament and dual play. He won four career Big Sky Player of the Week honors and had a winning singles record in league play in each of his four seasons, capping his career at 56-37 overall.

Seemingly always coming through for the Griz in tight spots, Pontus Hallgren battled injury as a senior but still finishes his career with an impressive 30-15 singles record while going 12-5 in Big Sky play. He lost only one conference dual in three seasons and won 11-straight singles matches as a sophomore. He's also a two-time winner of the UM President's Award for the top student-athlete GPA in Grizzly Athletics.

Milo Benn was a staple in Montana's doubles lineup this season, finishing the year with a 14-4 record in the opening point and a 6-2 record in Big Sky doubles play. The New Zealander played the clincher in Montana's upset over Air Force his senior season and clinched an upset over Nevada as a sophomore. He also won a singles and doubles title at Peak Fall Championship in Missoula as a sophomore.

The Griz are expected to return a young squad in the fall with two projected seniors, two juniors, two sophomores, and four incoming freshman.