Griz head to Big Sky tourney looking for upsets, experience

In 2019, the Montana men's tennis team went to the Big Sky championship tournament as the No. 5 seed with six freshmen on the roster, holding a .500 record in a rebuilding year after playing for a title in 2018.

Fast forward to 2022, when that crop of freshmen had grown to become seniors and helped produce one of the most historic seasons in program history with all-conference honorees up and down the roster and a Big Sky MVP nod for Ed Pudney.

For head coach Jason Brown, a large part of that team's growth can be traced back to the Phoenix Tennis Center in 2019 after his Grizzlies had bowed out of the tourney.

"After we lost, we went and watched every single match, watched them celebrate the championship, and said this is where we want to be," said Brown.

"I think it really set those guys up for some of the record-setting success they had later in their careers because they knew what it was about."

This week, Montana returns to the Big Sky championship with no intentions of bowing out early in the battle for a league title and trip to the NCAA tourney, but in a similar situation as 2019.

Like that team, the 2023 Griz (10-11, 2-5 BSC) enter the tournament as No. 6 seed underdogs, set to face defending champion and No. 3 seed Idaho (12-8, 5-2 BSC) in the quarterfinal round.

And also like that 2019 squad, this year's team is young, with no seniors on the roster, just two juniors, three sophomores, and four freshmen who are set to get their first-ever taste of tournament time.

But for Brown and the Griz, the trip represents the team's second season. A fresh chance to go turn some heads. And with increasing parity up and down the conference standings, the Griz are ready to go make some noise.

"It's all upside for us. Idaho's got a couple of graduating seniors who have had great careers, including a conference title and some conference MVPs. So, we have the chance to go upset all that with really no pressure on us at all." said Brown.

"I think it's important all these freshmen get to experience a conference tournament and the difficult involved in it. So, we're set up to do some damage down there if things go our way, but also to really be in a position to be one of the leaders of the conference next year."

The winner of the UM/Idaho match will advance on to face the No. 1 seed and No. 71 nationally ranked Northern Arizona Lumberjacks in the semifinal. NAU breezed through the regular season at 21-2, undefeated in league play at 8-0.

Matches get underway Thursday morning at the Phoenix Tennis Center, with the doubles round starting at 9 a.m. (MT), 8 a.m. (PT). Links to live scoring, programs, and brackets can be found on the Big Sky's Tournament Central page.

The Griz will be led by a person who is a rarity for Montana: a sophomore playing No. 1.

Gustav Theilgaard has run out to a 4-3 record in the top position during his second year of college tennis, mostly facing senior opposition week-in and week-out.

The Dane picked up one of the biggest wins of the year for UM in his last conference match, knocking off NAU No. 1 Maikel De Boes in Flagstaff in three sets and showing the potential of this team.

He's also undefeated in doubles with his new partner, freshman Tom Bittner, who together sit at 4-0 entering the tournament, having won four of their last five opening points, including a 6-2 demolition of their opponent from UNLV two weeks ago.

The bottom of the Grizzly lineup has also been bolstered by Guillermo Martin, who has posted a 4-1 singles record on court six in league play this season as he continues to work his way back from injury.

Freshman Baltazar Wiger-Nordas has also been a revelation as of late, improving to 9-2 overall this season in singles with wins over NAU and UNLV to boost his momentum heading into the conference tourney as the first player off the bench.

With solid numbers and momentum on their side, one of the team's two upperclassmen, Moritz Stoeger, who sits at 8-7 in singles and 9-8 in doubles, is also looking at the trip as an opportunity to prove what the young squad can do in the postseason.

"It's unbelievable just get the opportunity to be there. I think we're ready. We worked hard for this all year, and now it's time to redeem ourselves and go out there and battle," he said.

Griz head to Big Sky tourney looking for upsets, experience

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Players Mentioned

Tom Bittner

Guillermo Martin

Ed Pudney

Moritz Stoeger

Gustav Theilgaard

Baltazar Wiger-Nordas

University of Montana Athletics