Jacks axe Griz in Flagstaff

Friday, April 14

Flagstaff, Ariz.

11 AM (MT)

Montana

Northern Arizona

4/14/2023 3:27:00 PM | Men's Tennis

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By: Montana Sports Information

Northern Arizona lived up to its No. 66 national ranking on Friday, dispatching the Montana men's tennis team 5-2 at altitude in Flagstaff.

The Lumberjacks took two quick wins in doubles to clinch the opening point and won four of the six singles matches in straight sets to improve to 19-2 on the year and remain perfect in Big Sky play at 6-0.

The Griz fall to .500 on the year at 10-10 and 2-5 in Big Sky play but are still likely to advance to the postseason tournament in Phoenix in late April.

"I'll tell you what. You're not going to play a better team in the Big Sky under tougher conditions," said head coach Jason Brown.

"I thought we competed well across the board, but that's as good a Big Sky Conference tennis team as I've ever seen. I thought our guys played well, and we had some chances in different spots, but they're good from one to six and in doubles. Just outstanding."

Grizzly No. 1 Gustav Theilgaard picked up arguably his biggest win of the year, bouncing back to defeat NAU's top player in Maikel De Boes – who beat Theilgaard at regionals in the fall – in three sets, 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 in the first position.

The UM sophomore improves to 9-5 on the season and is now 4-3 in conference play in his first year playing No. 1 for the Griz.

"Gustav coming from a set down was just outstanding," added Brown.

"I thought it was a season-defining win for him. He had a lot of things not going away in the first set but stayed mentally tough and kind of broke the kid down a little bit. It was great to see some maturity out there. That guy beat him in the fall, so to see that sort of growth was really awesome."

Freshman Baltazar Wiger-Nordas picked up Montana's other win of the afternoon, his fifth win in his last six matches played. On court six, he rolled to a 6-3, 6-3 straight-set win over Maciej Ziomber to improve his overall record to 8-3 in his first season of college tennis.

Montana now travels to Vegas for its final nonconference match of the year against UNLV, where the Griz will prep for the Big Sky tourney in Phoenix with an outdoor dual in the desert sun. First serves against the Rebels go up at 1 p.m. (MT) on Saturday at the Fertitta Tennis Center.