Griz sweep Pirates in doubleheader to open the season

Saturday, January 20

Missoula, Mont.

10:30 AM

Montana

Whitworth

Griz sweep Pirates in doubleheader to open the season

1/20/2024 6:38:00 PM | Men's Tennis

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 Photo Gallery Photo Gallery 2

By: Montana Sports Information

The Montana men's tennis team rolled to a pair of wins in a season-opening doubleheader against Whitworth in Missoula on Saturday, shutting-out the Pirates 7-0 in both matches to start the year 2-0.

The Grizzlies were clinical against the outmatched D-III Pirates, as Montana held the visitors to eight scoreless sets and lost just a single set all day.

Montana swept both doubles rounds and didn't even allow a singles match to go to a third set as the entire Grizzly roster got plenty of reps.

With less than a week of practice under their belts in the spring semester, the pair of matches were designed more an opportunity to jump in the deep end of the competitive season to see where the team stood after a month off over the holiday break.

"I couldn't ask for anything more out of these guys after only two official practices. They came back in shape, ready to roll, and took care of business at home," said head coach Jason Brown.

"We not only picked up some things to work on overall as a team, but everybody individually will have some things to work on for when we hit D-I competition as well, and that's what these matches are about. It was a good litmus test and I'm glad we passed with flying colors."

Gallery: (1-20-2024) MTEN: DH vs Whitworth (1.20.24)

Two Grizzlies played their first dual for the maroon and silver, with junior transfer Chris Zhang out of North Alabama and true freshman Dragos Bucurescu (who first arrived in Missoula earlier this week) each picking up a pair of singles wins and pairing up in doubles for a win as well.

'It was nice getting the two new guys a couple of convincing singles wins. I really couldn't ask for anything more today. This was a nice start to the season.

Montana jumped to a quick team lead in the first match of the day, allowing the Pirates to win just four overall games in the doubles round to take the 1-0 team lead.

Zhang and Bucurescu paired up on the No. 2 court and were the first to finish, blanking the Warring/Froslan pair 6-0 without breaking a sweat.

In singles, Montana rattled off two quick wins with from junior Fernando Perez on court two (6-2, 6-1 over Henry Preacher), and Zhang won easily on court four (6-1, 6-2 over Colby Cinqmars) to take a 3-0 lead in the overall team score. The Griz then clinched the win soon after with junior Guillermo Martin beating Jess Weaver 6-2, 6-2 to seal the UM victory.

Bucurescu lost just one game in a court six victory over Landon LaBrie, beating the visitor 6-1, 6-0 for his first victory as a Grizzly.

Senior Josh Watkins closed out the match with a shutout, beating Matt Froslan on court five 6-0, 6-0, giving UM the 7-0 win.

With shuffled lineups in the afternoon match, Montana cruised to a win in doubles to start the second dual of the day.

The senior/sophomore duo of Moritz Stoeger and Baltazar Wiger-Nordas played a nearly perfect set of tennis on court two, allowing just enough points to count on one hand in a 6-0 win over the Warring/Dunn pair.

Bucurescu and Watkins then clinched the doubles point for UM with a 6-2 win on court three to put the Griz up 1-0.

Stoeger kept the momentum rolling in singles, beating Weaver 6-0, 6-0 on court four to keep his unblemished record intact, not giving up a single game all day.

Sophomore Tom Bittner, an All-Big Sky honorable mention as a freshman, only lost one game in his first singles match of the day, beating Payton Romey 6-1, 6-0 on court two to put the Griz up 3-0.

Zhang then clinched the win for UM with his second win of the day, beating Preacher 6-3, 6-2 on court three to put the Griz up for good 4-0.

Montana will now go into a two week training block before hosting a pair of nonconference matches against Eastern Washington and Grand Canyon on Feb. 2 and 4, respectively, at the Peak in Missoula.