Friday, March 24
Ogden, Utah
11:30 AM
Montana
at
Weber State
Photo by: Ryan Brennecke/UM Athletics
Griz return to road for two crucial conference duals
3/23/2023 5:59:00 PM | Men's Tennis
Fresh off a 2-1 non-conference trip to Boise, the Montana men's tennis team returns to action on Friday, this time looking to make an early impact in the Big Sky standings with a pair of key conference matches.
The good news: the Griz will test themselves against the two teams picked behind them in the league's preseason coaches poll when No. 4 UM takes on No. 6 Weber State and No. 5 Idaho State.
The not-so-good news: Montana must return to the road to do it, leaving the friendly surroundings of the Peak Racquet Club and playing the always-tough Wildcats and Bengals on their home turf.
The Griz (9-6, 1-1 BSC) open the weekend slate in Ogden, taking on Weber State (7-6, 1-0 BSC) Friday morning at 11:30 a.m. Montana caps the trip with a Sunday matinee in Pocatello, taking on Idaho State (6-9, 1-1 BSC) at 11 a.m. in Reed Gym.
With just the top six teams in the league qualifying for the Big Sky championship tourney in Phoenix in April, jockeying for one of those spots is mission number one for the Griz as they head back down south on I-15.
"In many ways, this is sort of a season-defining weekend. Not only do we get to find out where we're at, but how tough we are, too," said head coach Jason Brown.
"We'll be underdogs against both teams, zero doubt. They're both experienced, have a home-court advantage, and are having good seasons. So, we get to see how this young group of Grizzlies responds to life on the road in the Big Sky, and we're excited for the challenge."
No live coverage from Weber State or Idaho State will be available for either match.
GRIZ TRACKS: Montana hits the road after a mixed bag of results in Boise, knocking off the West Coast Conference's San Francisco Dons and the D-III George Fox Bruins in neutral-site duals but falling to red-hot host Boise State 1-6 in UM's only match against a ranked opponent all season.
• Sophomore Fernando Perez picked up Montana's only win against the Broncos to go 2-0 last week and earn UM's nomination for Big Sky Player of the Week.
Perez cruised to a straight-set win over San Francisco's Stevie Gould on court three 6-1, 6-4 in the Grizzlies' 4-1 win over the Dons.
Against the No. 59 Broncos, the Spaniard picked up a win over Caden Moortgat in a third set superbreaker, bouncing back from a first set loss in another tiebreaker 6-7 (3), 6-2, 1-0 (8) while playing up on court two.
Perez has been one of Montana's most consistent players this spring as a winner of six of his last seven singles matches, entering the week at 8-3 overall.
The Griz went down to Boise on a three-match win streak that included their first conference win of the season, a 7-0 sweep of Eastern Washington. That means UM enters this week with momentum as winners of five of its last six matches after falling at Sac State in late February.
• One of the few sophomores to ever play No. 1 for the Griz, Gustav Theilgaard, returns to lead UM this weekend after battling sickness, sitting at 6-3 so far this season and riding a three-match win streak in games completed.
Theilgaard and freshman George Russell have also been one of the league's top doubles partners at 8-4 this season, the second-best record on court one in the conference.
Scouting the Wildcats: Junior Sebastian Buxman earned first-team All-Big Sky honors as a sophomore and is once again leading his team from the front with a 6-5 record on court one. Tristan Sarap sits at 7-2 on the year and counts wins over New Mexico, UNLV, Grand Canyon, and Saint Mary's on his resume so far this season.
In the last meeting between the two, No. 66 Montana bounced back from a loss in the doubles round to take a tense 4-3 win over Weber in Missoula. It was Buxman that handed future Big Sky MVP Ed Pudney one of his few losses on the season in that match, but Montana held tight with wins on courts 2-5.
Only two Grizzlies from the lineup in that match return this season, however, with Theilgaard and Stoeger the only ones to play that day.
Scouting the Bengals: Idaho State already has a leg up on the Wildcats this season, beating Weber State in Pocatello 4-3 in late February in its first conference win of the year, having lost at Portland State 4-3.
ISU has its hands full this weekend, however, having to face a strong Idaho squad on Saturday, the day before the Griz come rolling into town for Sunday's dual.
Led by second-team all-conference pick Patrick Kristensen from a year ago, the Bengals picked up two wins over Boise State in a dual last week compared to UM's one win while also knocking off San Francisco 4-2.
In the last meeting between the two rivals, Pudney put in an inspiring performance to beat ISU's No.1 (who now plays at Utah) in a 6-1 Griz win in Missoula. Theilgaard and Stoeger are again the only two Grizzlies from that squad still on the team, however, as UM rotates a mostly freshman and sophomore lineup this season.
Up Next: Montana continues Big Sky play in two weeks with a pair of crucial home matches, hosting the defending conference champs Idaho and upstart Portland State on April 7 and 8.
The good news: the Griz will test themselves against the two teams picked behind them in the league's preseason coaches poll when No. 4 UM takes on No. 6 Weber State and No. 5 Idaho State.
The not-so-good news: Montana must return to the road to do it, leaving the friendly surroundings of the Peak Racquet Club and playing the always-tough Wildcats and Bengals on their home turf.
The Griz (9-6, 1-1 BSC) open the weekend slate in Ogden, taking on Weber State (7-6, 1-0 BSC) Friday morning at 11:30 a.m. Montana caps the trip with a Sunday matinee in Pocatello, taking on Idaho State (6-9, 1-1 BSC) at 11 a.m. in Reed Gym.
With just the top six teams in the league qualifying for the Big Sky championship tourney in Phoenix in April, jockeying for one of those spots is mission number one for the Griz as they head back down south on I-15.
"In many ways, this is sort of a season-defining weekend. Not only do we get to find out where we're at, but how tough we are, too," said head coach Jason Brown.
"We'll be underdogs against both teams, zero doubt. They're both experienced, have a home-court advantage, and are having good seasons. So, we get to see how this young group of Grizzlies responds to life on the road in the Big Sky, and we're excited for the challenge."
No live coverage from Weber State or Idaho State will be available for either match.
GRIZ TRACKS: Montana hits the road after a mixed bag of results in Boise, knocking off the West Coast Conference's San Francisco Dons and the D-III George Fox Bruins in neutral-site duals but falling to red-hot host Boise State 1-6 in UM's only match against a ranked opponent all season.
• Sophomore Fernando Perez picked up Montana's only win against the Broncos to go 2-0 last week and earn UM's nomination for Big Sky Player of the Week.
Perez cruised to a straight-set win over San Francisco's Stevie Gould on court three 6-1, 6-4 in the Grizzlies' 4-1 win over the Dons.
Against the No. 59 Broncos, the Spaniard picked up a win over Caden Moortgat in a third set superbreaker, bouncing back from a first set loss in another tiebreaker 6-7 (3), 6-2, 1-0 (8) while playing up on court two.
Perez has been one of Montana's most consistent players this spring as a winner of six of his last seven singles matches, entering the week at 8-3 overall.
The Griz went down to Boise on a three-match win streak that included their first conference win of the season, a 7-0 sweep of Eastern Washington. That means UM enters this week with momentum as winners of five of its last six matches after falling at Sac State in late February.
• One of the few sophomores to ever play No. 1 for the Griz, Gustav Theilgaard, returns to lead UM this weekend after battling sickness, sitting at 6-3 so far this season and riding a three-match win streak in games completed.
Theilgaard and freshman George Russell have also been one of the league's top doubles partners at 8-4 this season, the second-best record on court one in the conference.
Scouting the Wildcats: Junior Sebastian Buxman earned first-team All-Big Sky honors as a sophomore and is once again leading his team from the front with a 6-5 record on court one. Tristan Sarap sits at 7-2 on the year and counts wins over New Mexico, UNLV, Grand Canyon, and Saint Mary's on his resume so far this season.
In the last meeting between the two, No. 66 Montana bounced back from a loss in the doubles round to take a tense 4-3 win over Weber in Missoula. It was Buxman that handed future Big Sky MVP Ed Pudney one of his few losses on the season in that match, but Montana held tight with wins on courts 2-5.
Only two Grizzlies from the lineup in that match return this season, however, with Theilgaard and Stoeger the only ones to play that day.
Scouting the Bengals: Idaho State already has a leg up on the Wildcats this season, beating Weber State in Pocatello 4-3 in late February in its first conference win of the year, having lost at Portland State 4-3.
ISU has its hands full this weekend, however, having to face a strong Idaho squad on Saturday, the day before the Griz come rolling into town for Sunday's dual.
Led by second-team all-conference pick Patrick Kristensen from a year ago, the Bengals picked up two wins over Boise State in a dual last week compared to UM's one win while also knocking off San Francisco 4-2.
In the last meeting between the two rivals, Pudney put in an inspiring performance to beat ISU's No.1 (who now plays at Utah) in a 6-1 Griz win in Missoula. Theilgaard and Stoeger are again the only two Grizzlies from that squad still on the team, however, as UM rotates a mostly freshman and sophomore lineup this season.
Up Next: Montana continues Big Sky play in two weeks with a pair of crucial home matches, hosting the defending conference champs Idaho and upstart Portland State on April 7 and 8.
Players Mentioned
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/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
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