Griz, Bittner earn Montana record regional rankings

Montana men's tennis head coach Jason Brown will be the first to tell you his team's first round exit from the Big Sky Conference championship tournament in April wasn't the result he'd hoped for.

But led by a breakout star in sophomore Tom Bittner, the Grizzlies managed to make a little history anyway, proving once again that the future is bright for Montana's netters.

Last week, the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) ranked the Grizzlies No. 8 in its year-end regional rankings – the highest Mountain Region finish in program History.

Bittner, a unanimous first-team All-Big Sky pick, also received a program best ranking for the Grizzlies, capping the year as the No. 10 player in the Mountain Region.

"It's a huge, happy surprise that in a year I really considered a rebuilding year, we put together the best regional ranking in school history. I think it speaks to the elevated level of expectations this program has grown into, and now it continues to set the bar a little higher for us," said Brown.

Montana went 14-10 last season after injuries derailed a promising 7-1 start. Wins over Grand Canyon, Marquette, North Dakota, and Illinois State highlighted the nonconference season. A rebound win over Idaho in Boise and home wins over Idaho State and Weber State (which also received regional rankings) paved the way to a 4-4 conference record, with ISU getting the best of UM in the championship tourney.

For Brown, the No. 8 ranking is a sign of a strong program getting stronger. The first and only other time the Grizzlies earned a regional ranking was 2022 when they finished No. 9 after going 15-5 and advancing to the conference semifinal.

"We want to be seen as one of the premier teams in the region, not just the Big Sky Conference. So, I'm ecstatic that is where we ended up, especially considering we didn't finish the year quite as strongly as we wanted. We had some real good momentum there towards the tail end and some things didn't go our way, but this really gets me excited for the future," he added.

Coming off an under-the-radar freshman year, Bittner put together one of the best seasons in program history in year two.

At 16-2 overall and 7-1 in Big Sky play, the German was a lock for all-conference postseason honors, and was the co-winner of the team's Kris Nord Grizzly Grit MVP award after showing steady improvement-turned dominance throughout the season.

He worked his way up from court three to court one and never looked back, winning six of his last eight matches with his only loss coming to MVP Mark Keki, a senior from Sacramento State.

He was also a star in the classroom, pulling off a perfect 4.0 GPA and being named this year's co-recipient of UM's President's Award that goes to the male and female student-athletes who achieved the highest undergraduate GPA in Grizzly Athletics over the previous two semesters.

Bittner now becomes the highest ranked Grizzly in program history and the highest ranked Big Sky player in the Mountain Region at No. 10. He is now the highest ranked of four Grizzlies to earn a regional ranking above Big Sky MVP Ed Pudney, who finished No. 14 after his senior season in 2022, Victor Casadevall who was No. 19 in 2018, and Jan Steenkamp who was No. 18 in 2003.

Heading into his junior year he will also be the second-highest returning player in the regional rankings, with all but one player, No. 6 Daniel Arbizu of Denver University, lost to graduation or the transfer portal ahead of him.

"The fact that Tom is ranked higher than some stellar former players, conference MVPs, as well as some guys who would be on the Mount Rushmore of Griz tennis, is really exciting," said Brown.

"He'll come back as a second highest ranked player in our region which includes power five schools like Utah and BYU. The fact that we've got a guy who, who is set for some great things in wearing the maroon and silver is awesome and lets us know we have someone up top who can really lead from the front."

Montana is one of four teams from the Big Sky to earn a regional ranking this year, speaking to the strength of the conference. Northern Arizona topped the list at No 5, Idaho State came in at No. 7, Montana No. 8, and Weber State No. 10.

Bittner was the highest ranked of three players from the league in the regional top-20, with NAU's Daniel Torres at No. 16 and ISU's Valentino De Pellegrin at No. 20.

University of Montana Athletics

Griz, Bittner earn Montana record regional rankings

Players Mentioned

Tom Bittner

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