Griz cap regular season in Bozeman

The Montana men's tennis team closes out its regular season schedule this week with a crucial dual against Montana State in Bozeman on Sunday.

But then again, they all crucial when it comes to the Brawl of the Wild.

Montana (14-8, 4-3 Big Sky) could either earn a top three seed at the Big Sky championship tourney, or, with the wrong set of results around the league this week, miss the tournament all together when they take on MSU at 11 a.m. on April 21 at the Bobcat Anderson Tennis Center.

The Griz enter the rivalry dual sitting fourth on the conference table after a narrow loss to the preseason favorite Northern Arizona Lumberjacks last week in Missoula. The Bobcats enter their final home match sitting sixth in the standings at 8-11 and 3-4 in league play, coming off a similar 5-2 loss to NAU.

With only the top six teams in the conference advancing to the championship tournament next week in Phoenix, it's do or die time for both squads, who typically know each other well. But unlike most years, there is an air of unfamiliarity between UM and MSU in this year's rivalry dual.

Montana State was forced to cancel its 2023 season due to a rash of injuries, and with the 2020 season canceled due to COVID, that means the two have only played each other twice in the last four years. Highly unusual for programs that used to play twice a season.

"We only have two players on our team who have actually played a Griz/Cat match. No one else on our squad has ever been to Bozeman or played the Bobcats in a dual. Plus, they have a new coach and I've never competed against him either. So that being said, I really don't know what to expect. It'll be interesting," said head coach Jason Brown.

What he does know is that no matter how many times the two teams have played, the Griz know the importance of this match and is turning the focus inward.

"This team has been so good about making every match matter. And they've been so dialed in and overachieved so much this season that it's not about building the importance it's about deflating it a little bit honestly," Brown added.

"They know it's a rivalry. They went to the football game this year. I don't have to build it up."

LAST MEETING: With MSU's season canceled in 2023, the Griz last played the Cats in 2022 in Bozeman and took a 5-2 loss as MSU claimed the Big Sky Championship in front of a boisterous crowd that had just migrated over from the football spring game.

That year's Big Sky MVP Ed Pudney and current Grizzly senior Moritz Stoeger were the only Grizzlies to come home with a win.

In fact, you have to go back to 2017 to find the last time UM beat MSU in Bozeman, when the Griz snuck away with a 4-3 victory.

GRIZ TRACKS: Montana is led by sophomore No. 1 Tom Bittner, who heads to Bozeman as the second-winningest player in the Big Sky this season at 15-2 overall and 6-1 in league play, with his only loss coming to presumptive MVP, Sac State senior Mark Keki.

Guillermo Martin has been another standout for Montana in his senior season, quietly building a 6-1 Big Sky singles record (10-4 overall) and finishing his college career having never… we repeat… NEVER… lost a match in Missoula. He'll graduate having tallied a 15-0 record at the Peak Racquet Club, missing his sophomore season to injury.

He's also one of just two Grizzlies who have ever played a dual in Bozeman.

"It's one of those matches that we look froward to when we start the season. It's one we always want to play, and it gives you some extra motivation to beat them. I learned how important it is when I first came here and the seniors always try to teach the young players about it. So, it's a big weekend and we really want to beat them," said Martin.

"I think we have to start focused in doubles. They're going to come with a lot of energy, they're always very loud and the way they play is hard under those conditions. But if we start with a focus on doubles, we should be good in singles."

Similarly, Stoeger was almost unbeatable in his final season at home, having not lost a single set in Missoula this season until last week when he fell in three to NAU's Maciej Ziomber. Stoeger has built an 11-6 overall singles record as a senior and enters the week at 4-2 in conference play.

Stoeger and sophomore Baltazar Wiger-Nordas have also been rock solid in doubles as well this season at 11-7 overall together, with Stoeger 14-8 overall in doubles.

UP NEXT: A win on Sunday punches Montana's ticket to the Big Sky Championship Tournament in Phoenix set for April 25-28 at the Phoenix Tennis Center.

"From everything I can access, I think our best tennis wins in Bozeman but like any road match in the Big Sky the levels are close and if we don't have a good day it's going to be tough to come home with a W," said Brown.

"It's a challenging match, a challenging environment, but it's a test we want to pass before conference. I think if we pass this test, we'll go into Phoenix with full confidence of having as good a shot as we've had in years of coming home with a title."

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Players Mentioned

Tom Bittner

Guillermo Martin

Moritz Stoeger

Baltazar Wiger-Nordas

University of Montana Athletics