Griz roll over Eagles 7-0

Sunday, March 5

Missoula, Mont.

Noon

Montana

Eastern Washington

Photo by: Ryan Brennecke/UM Athletics

3/5/2023 5:53:00 PM | Men's Tennis

Box Score Photo Gallery

By: Montana Sports Information

The Montana men's tennis team picked up its first Big Sky Conference win of the season on Sunday, defending their home court with a 7-0 sweep of Eastern Washington at the Peak Racquet Club in Missoula.

With the win, Montana improves to .500 on the season at 5-5 overall and 1-1 in league play. It also marks back-to-back shut-outs for the Griz over the Eagles this season after taking a 7-0 nonconference win in Cheney back in January. EWU falls to 3-6 overall and 0-2 in conference play.

Montana cruised by Eastern in the doubles round, clinching with 6-0 and 6-1 wins on courts two and one, respectively. The Griz then kept the foot on the gas in singles, taking straight-set wins up and down the lineup.

"I couldn't ask for anything more out of our guys today. It's nice when you have a plan, and the match goes exactly how you want. That's a tribute to these guys just resetting after a couple of tough weeks," said head coach Jason Brown.

"We talked pregame about this being our house, and the guys defended it well. Sometimes when you face a team you've played before, you can sort of take your foot off the gas a little bit. EWU had nothing to lose coming in here. They challenged us in spots, and the guys responded. So, I'm super pleased."

Gallery: (3-6-2023) MTEN: vs EWU (3.5.23)

In doubles, the Griz got off to a hot start on court two with Tom Bittner and Fernando Perez pitching a 6-0 shut-out over EWU's Dalos/Dillon pair. With the win, Bittner and Perez improved to 4-1 together to retain their team-high win percentage.

Soon after, Montana clinched the point with another dominant win on court one, with George Russell and Gustav Theilgaard rolling over EWU's Kammerer/Sarlvik pair 6-1 to put UM up 1-0 in the team score.

The Griz were equally dominant to start the singles round, taking quick wins in straight sets on courts two, three, and four to clinch the overall victory.

Junior Moritz Stoeger won Montana's first singles point on court three, dominating the second set over Caden Kammerer to take a 6-4, 6-2 victory that put UM up 2-0. Sam Baldwin then added to the Grizzly total, beating Tyler Dalos 6-4, 6-3 on court four to make it a 3-0 UM lead.

Minutes later, Bittner finished off Erik Sarlvik on court two 6-1, 6-1, to clinch the team win, with the Grizzly freshman not losing more than one game all day, including doubles.

On court one, Theilgaard found himself in a battle with Steven Paz, who pushed the Grizzly No. 1 all the way to a tiebreaker in the second set. Theilgaard won the first set handily and clawed his way to victory in the breaker, breaking Paz' serve to win 6-1, 7-6 (2).

"I felt really strong in the first set, then I think he got used to my tempo. He made a lot of good adjustments and got used to the way I was playing, so I had to make some changes. But when I did that, I was able to hang on, and it feels good to get that win," said Theilgaard.

The Dane improved to 4-3 in singles on court one this season as the only sophomore to play in the top position for the Griz in over 20 years.

Guillermo Martin improved to 5-1 in singles this season with a clean 6-2, 6-3 win over Drew Dillon on court five, and freshman George Russell capped off the win for the Griz on court six with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Bruno Ortega.

Montana returns to action on their home courts next week, hosing Lewis-Clark State for a doubleheader at the Peak on Sunday, March 12, at 9:30 a.m. and 1 p.m.