Griz return to national rankings, prepare to take on Gonzaga

For just the second time in program history, the Montana men's tennis team has entered the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's national rankings, slotting in as the No. 69 team in the land on Wednesday.

The Griz, who are off to an undefeated start at 8-0 on the season, last appeared in the ITA national rankings in 2022 when they reached a high of No. 62 during an eight-week run in the poll.

Montana will have a big opportunity to climb in the polls this weekend when it travels west to take on the always-tough Gonzaga Bulldogs on Sunday, Feb. 23, at GU's Stevens Tennis Center.

The ranking and upcoming match against the Bulldogs tees-up a challenging stretch for the Griz with the start of Big Sky play around the corner and two matches against ranked nonconference opponents on the horizon as the calendar turns to March.

"It's an excellent reward for the guys' start to the season. I think these rankings have to be celebrated a little bit from where we're at. It's just really difficult to do. I look back at my first year coaching in 2014 for a team that wins the Big Sky and we weren't ever regionally or nationally ranked. So, we're raising the bar for the program, and it feels really good knowing 2022 wasn't a fluke and we're still knocking on the door," said head coach Jason Brown.

"I'm proud of the focus the guys have had to start the season. I think they deserve this."

THE RANKING: Montana was ranked No. 69 out of 75 D-I teams in the nation by the ITA, which ranks its top 75 teams in the nation weekly. The Griz were the only team in the Big Sky Conference to earn a ranking and one of eight teams from the Pacific Northwest or Mountain Regions to make the list. UM came in ahead of notable programs like Portland (No. 72), UNLV (No. 73), and LMU (No. 74), and just behind the likes of Purdue (No. 66) and Louisiana State (No. 67).

Montana's schedule only gets tougher from here, however, with nonconference matches against No. 62 Grand Canyon set for March 14 in Phoenix and No. 65 Utah State set for March 21 in Logan.

SCOUTING GONZAGA: Before all that though UM (8-0) takes on GU (4-4) who enters the match in Spokane looking to rebound from a string of three-straight losses. Montana is 1-4 against the Zags in the last five meetings between the regional rivals, with the Grizzlies' last win coming in 2021 – a 4-3 upset of the then-No. 62 ranked Bulldogs.

Despite just pulling out one win in the last five seasons, most of the meetings between the Griz and Zags have been tight, with two coming down to a single team point and one 5-2 decision.

On paper, this year looks different, however. Montana heads west on fire with wins over North Dakota (picked second in the Summit League) and Air Force already in the bag. Gonzaga, meanwhile, is coming off a two-loss trip to California against UC Santa Barbara and Cal Poly, as well as a 3-4 home loss to Nevada. GU's last win was on Jan. 31 when they beat Montana State 4-1 in Spokane.

While a win would move UM up the rankings, throw that thought out the window because the Griz are only focused on bringing the road warrior mentality with them down I-90.

"Road wins count for a lot in the ranking system so beating Gonzaga would definitely help our cause, but I just want us to continue to get tougher on the road. That was the impetus for how we started the season - to get a bunch of road matches and prepare ourselves for league play," added Brown.

"I think we have an opportunity there. We need some momentum, and the doubles is always key, but I feel like we have a chance to win in every spot. You can't have any bad brakes on the road, but we've had a good week of preparation, and I think the guys are really excited about the opportunity."

LAST TIME OUT: Montana returns to action this week after sweeping a two-match road trip to Whitman and Lewis-Clark State last weekend, blanking the Blues 7-0 and rolling over the Warriors 6-1 with a shuffled lineup and reserves on the court. The Griz only had one of 12 singles matches go into three sets on the weekend in the only loss.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Montana is just one week removed from one of its biggest wins in program history and the Big Sky Player of the Week honors that came with it.

On Feb. 8 the Griz traveled to the Air Force Academy and came home with a 5-2 upset of the Falcons. As the clincher in that match, Grizzly junior Baltazar Wiger-Nordas earned the first Player of the Week award of his career while going a combined 3-0 in singles and doubles on the two-match road trip to Colorado Springs.

The Norwegian has been on a tear in the 2024-25 season, rolling through the fall tournament slate with a 10-2 singles record and two consecutive tournament titles. He's now 4-1 in singles overall in spring duals and 3-0 when playing on court two.

TOM'S ON TOP: Grizzly ace Tom Bittner has also picked up where he left off last fall as a unanimous first-team All-Big Sky pick, undefeated in five matches to start his junior campaign.

Bittner is a combined 21-2 overall in the past two seasons and 14-3 in his career playing on court No. 1. He finished his sophomore year at 16-2 and was ranked the No. 10 player in the ITA's Mountain Region – the highest-ranked Grizzly in program history. At 5-0 this season, he's on track again to earn first-team all-conference honors and has an opportunity to climb into the national singles rankings with upcoming matches against GCU and Utah State.

FRESHMEN IMPACT: Montana's undefeated stretch has also been fueled by some newcomers to the team, with freshman Duncan McCall earning UM's nomination for Big Sky Player of the Week after going 4-0 against Whitman and LC-State.

The New Zealander moved up to court No. 2 in both singles matches and earned straight-set wins and partnered with fellow freshman Johnny Wilkinson on court two doubles for a pair of wins as well.

UP NEXT: Montana heads to California for two duals and a mini tournament in a busy slate in the Central Valley. The Griz open the trip against the Pacific Tigers of the always-tough West Coast Conference on March 5. They then open Big Sky play at Sacramento State on March 7 before participating in the Hornet's Golden State Invite against a yet-unknown opponent on March 8.

For just the second time in program history, the Griz have cracked the @ITA_Tennis national rankings!

📈 https://t.co/px7UlWDUcu #GoGriz #GrizMTEN pic.twitter.com/9jV1dTWpyI
— Montana Griz Men's Tennis 🎾 (@MontanaGrizMTEN) February 20, 2025

Griz return to national rankings, prepare to take on Gonzaga

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Players Mentioned

Tom Bittner

Duncan McCall

Baltazar Wiger-Nordas

Johnny Wilkinson

University of Montana Athletics