Griz netters back at home for Sunday doubleheader

After sweeping Eastern Washington in Missoula a week ago, the Montana men's tennis team continues its three-match homestand with a nonconference doubleheader against Lewis-Clark State.

The Griz (5-5, 1-1 BSC) open the Sunday (March 12) doubleheader against the Warriors (6-6) at 9:30 a.m. and play the afternoon match at 1 p.m.

Both matches will be played at the Peak Racquet Club. Admission to the Peak is open to the public and free of charge. Links to live scoring of both matches can be found at GoGriz.com/MTEN.

At .500 on the season, Montana turns the focus inward this week against the NAIA Warriors. The Griz enter the weekend after a straight-sets shutout of Eastern Washington in Missoula a week ago to move to 1-1 in conference play.

"I feel outstanding about our level of play and what the guys were doing against EWU, and now we're just hoping to carry that on this weekend," said head coach Jason Brown.

"We're going to split our roster and play two different lineups this week to get everybody some reps. Knock on wood, we've been fairly healthy, but I want to make sure we have some depth if we need it. I think that's actually one of the strengths of our team. We are really, really deep at the bottom of the lineup, so we want to have those guys ready."

MILESTONES FOR COACH BROWN: Brown will seek his 60th career win at Montana this week against LCSC. He enters the weekend with a 59-42 overall record, needing one of the two matches Sunday to reach 60.

He and the Grizzlies have been stellar in matches played in Missoula during his tenure. A win this week would give Brown the 30th home win of his career, now with a 29-4 record since 2018.

Last week's match against EWU was another milestone for Brown – the 25th Big Sky Conference win of his career. The 2018 Big Sky Coach of the Year now carries a 25-12 record in league play.

GRIZ TRACKS: Following a player-of-the-week performance against Eastern Washington, Gustav Theilgaard improved to 4-3 this season in singles. He's built a winning record despite being a rare sophomore in the No. 1 position in the lineup, something Montana hasn't had in over a decade.

The Dane has also paired with freshman George Russell to build a team-best 5-3 doubles record on court one.

With veterans Moritz Stoeger and Guillermo Martin leading the way, UM has been strong in the middle and bottom of the lineup, winning 80 percent of their singles matches on court three and 90 percent on court six. With Russell, Fernando Perez, Sam Baldwin, and more logging wins in those positions, the Griz are a combined 17-3 on the two courts.

UP NEXT: Montana heads for Idaho and a three-match nonconference trip to Boise, where the Griz will play the University of San Francisco, Boise State, and George Fox on March 18, 19, and 20, respectively.

Four days later, UM resumes conference play at Weber State on March 24 and finishes the spring break trip at Idaho State on March 16.

SCHEDULE CHANGE: Montana has rescheduled its postponed nonconference match at UNLV. The Griz will now turn their one-off trip to Flagstaff into a two-fer, facing Northern Arizona on April 14, then traveling to Las Vegas to face the Rebels on April 15.

UM's trip to Vegas in early February was canceled due to travel issues. The other neutral site match previously scheduled against UC San Diego is canceled and will not be played.

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Players Mentioned

Sam Baldwin

Guillermo Martin

Fernando Perez

George Russell

Moritz Stoeger

Gustav Theilgaard

University of Montana Athletics