Newcomers lead Griz into pair of weekend duals

The Montana men's tennis team returns to action this week in Missoula with a round-robin pair of nonconference duals against Eastern Washington and Grand Canyon at the Peak Racquet Club.

The Griz, who opened the season with a doubleheader sweep of Whitworth two weeks ago, start the homestand Friday morning, taking on a familiar foe in Eastern Washington (0-1) at 11 a.m. in an out-of-conference tune-up.

Montana (2-0) then caps the weekend against Grand Canyon (0-1) on Sunday morning at 9 a.m. The Eagles and Antelopes will face each other in a nonconference dual on Saturday, giving all three teams a pair of matches. Admission to the Peak is free and open to the public, with links to live scoring available at GoGriz.com.

The duals will serve as early season warmups for all three squads, with none having played more than a pair of matches to date in the early season. They are also UM's first D-I matches of the year, with the Griz taking a 7-0, 7-0 whitewash of the Pirates in Missoula to start the season.

Montana has seen plenty of recent success against both EWU and GCU. The Griz last faced the 'Lopes - winners of the competitive WAC conference twice since 2019 and runners-up two more times in the last decade - in 2021. UM beat the GCU handily 6-1 in a neutral site dual at Boise State that day, avenging losses in both 2016 and 2017 in Phoenix. The match will be the first in a home-and-home series with Grand Canyon.

The Griz have won also five-straight duals against Eastern Washington and have dominated each one. UM has only lost one individual match to EWU since 2021 and have swept the Eagles 7-0 in each of the last four meetings, giving the Griz a 34-1 advantage in the last three seasons.

"A couple quality D-I matches in the Peak are always really great for us to access where we're at early in the season," said head coach Jason Brown

"We've played Grand Canyon here and there over the years and they're always competitive and always have good teams. We've played Eastern a couple times in nonconference the last two years and it's always a good regional matchup. So, we're just excited about a couple of good D-I matches after coming off, really a perfect start to our season."

Helping lead the Griz into battle this weekend are a pair of newcomers that have already made a big impact in their short time at Montana.

Chris Zhang, a junior New Zealander that transferred from North Alabama at the beginning of the fall semester, and Dragos Bucurescu, a freshman from Romania that joined the program at the start of the spring semester, will each play just their third dual for UM this weekend.

Both also got off to flying starts as Grizzlies, winning each of their matches handily against Whitworth after less than a week's practice.

Zhang was at least used to his new surroundings having played a fall season at UM, while Bucurescu was thrown in the deep end of college tennis, arriving in Missoula from Bucharest about four days before his first match.

What's become apparent in that short time is that Brown and the Grizzlies have found a pair of aces in the hole. A pair of players that can not only contribute in the lineup, but can help Montana chase another Big Sky title.

Zhang got his first taste of Grizzly tennis in the fall after moving to Montana to join his former teammate, Fernando Perez, after two years at North Alabama, where he played against some of the best in the South.

In his first-ever tournament in maroon and silver he took home some hardware, winning the doubles title in the West draw at Air Force's Bedford Cup in the Mountains. He showed promise for the upcoming conference season as well, beating Montana State's and Weber State's No. 1 pair with is partner Tom Bittner, who played at UM's No. 3 team.

In singles he also knocked-off opponents from BYU and MSU to earn a trip to a consolation final.

It was an impressive start.

"I was excited to bring in a kid with a couple of years of D-I experience. He was a known factor coming from North Alabama because he was teammates with Fernando and had a tie to New Zealand with (former Grizzly) Milo Benn, so we knew we were getting a really quality guy. We knew he was a tough out on the tennis court too having played against all the top-25 teams in the south, and he's proven to actually be even better than I would have probably expected," said Brown.

"He's a really great athlete and fit right in with the team from day one. So, I'm excited to see what kind of production he puts together for us in the spring."

Zhang followed that appearance up with a trip the quarterfinals in both singles and doubles at the ITA Mountain Regional, squaring off against some of the best in the west. To get there he beat the No. 1 seed pair from Utah in doubles and opponents from Northern Arizona and UNLV in singles.

He capped his first fall season at UM with another final appearance at Gonzaga's Bulldog Invitational with wins over opponents from Seattle University and EWU, before taking second at the Peak Fall Championship in doubles.

No stranger to big-time tennis, he represented New Zealand in the 2017 Junior Davis Cup and the 2014 World Junior Tennis Finals, where he and the Kiwis finished No. 10 in the world.

Safe to say, Zhang's transition from Auckland to Alabama to Montana has gone pretty well.

"I thought Jason was just a really nice guy, like, probably the nicest coach I talked to while I was transferring. So, I decided Montana was the place, and I've loved it so far. The team is nice, the facilities are amazing, and there are a lot more people at this school, so I think it's pretty sweet," he said.

"I think it's been good tennis wise. It was tough academic wise to start but I've gotten in the groove of things. Jason has said it's been good having me around, the energy and good vibes I provide and all that. I enjoy the company of the other guys, so it's been awesome."

As a transfer with two seasons left to play, Zhang is looking to continue his stellar form from the fall into the spring championship season. With the Griz picked fifth in the preseason poll, he has big goals for both himself and his teammates.

"I'd say my strength is consistency. I don't miss too many balls unless it's a really bad day. I'm trying to finish points with a little more power, but yeah, just a solid player around," Zhang added.

"Jason and I were talking, and he said it would be great if I could go undefeated in the bottom half of the lineup. I'd like to do that, it would be cool, but it's a pretty big goal. I'd love to win a conference title. That's the big goal. Win a conference title with the boys."

Bucurescu arrived in Missoula on a frigid January directly from Bucharest and was playing in his first college match just a few days later. Late to the college recruitment party, the mid-year addition has also made a smooth transition to Montana.

As one of the top-10 overall players in Romania and a four-time runner-up in the national club tournament, tennis has been in his blood since he was four years old.

It was that experience that helped him transition from the clay courts of his home country one week to a college dual in snowy Missoula the next without missing a beat.

"At my first practice I was like, oh woah, I'm playing even better now that I'm here. Balls are going faster, and I can hit a winner more easily now. Plus, Jason has been putting a lot of effort into supporting me, so I've loved It," said Bucurescu.

In his first match against Whitworth, he and Zhang partnered in doubles and came away with a 6-0 win before cruising to a 6-1, 6-0 win against the Pirate's Landon LeBrie on court six for his first singles win as a Grizzly.

Hours later he followed that up with another win in doubles and a 6-0, 6-0 shutout of Matt Froslan in singles to win his first two matches without hardly breaking a sweat.

"I called back home to my parents and everyone was following the scores and they were like 'bravo Dragos, we're so proud of you!' and it was one of the best moments of my career," he added with a smile.

As a true freshman Bucurescu will be afforded time to develop his game against D-I competition, something he's bound to do this weekend against EWU and GCU. But even after a short time Brown sees an upside in the Romanian that could pay dividends for the Griz for years to come.

"He's hit the ground running and seems to be really excited to be here and to be part of Griz tennis," said Brown.

"It's really hard coming in mid-semester and then being expected to literally play matches as soon as you get here. He's just done great since he's arrived, he's incredibly coachable and just a great fit for our team. He's an athletic kid, a lefty, and will give us some great depth, so I think he has a lot of potential."

For Bucurescu, he's embracing his opportunity with Montana with open arms. As a former student of Dobre Daniel – the same coach who mentored one-time world No. 1 and fellow Romanian Simona Halep, he knows good coaching when he sees it. He says thinks Brown and Montana will help him reach his next goal of playing on the ATP tour.

"Jason is such a lovely guy and UM is a great place to improve myself. Jason told me everything I need to know, he was clear from the beginning and has been encouraging me, and I feel like I've done good things. So, I would say the team, Jason, and everyone around here has been good so far and very supportive."

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Players Mentioned

Tom Bittner

Dragos Bucurescu

Fernando Perez

Chris Zhang

University of Montana Athletics