Griz return to road for pair of tough matches

Fresh off a big road win at Sacramento State to open Big Sky play, the Montana men's tennis team heads south again this week for a two-match tour of Arizona where the Griz will once again face a tough conference road test.

Montana, currently on top of the league standings at 10-3 overall and 1-0 in Big Sky play with seven road wins on hand, travels to Phoenix on Friday to open the trip at Grand Canyon, who is also off to a hot start this season at 9-3.

The Griz then head up the hill on I-17 to Flagstaff where the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks await at 7,000 feet for a high-altitude showdown between the teams picked first and second in the Big Sky preseason poll on Sunday.

Like Montana, the 'Lopes have spent time in the ITA's national rankings this season and will be looking for a modicum of revenge against UM after losing to the Griz 4-1 in Missoula last season.

Northern Arizona then presents its own unique challenge, with the lumberjacks sitting at 70-5 over the last decade at home thanks to the high altitude conditions, and not to mention a team that has been the cream of the Big Sky crop for nearly a decade.

"The NAU weekend is always a challenge. They're perennially one of the best teams in the conference and playing at altitude will test us in every way possible. It's a matchup of the top two preseason teams in the league, so we'll try to justify why we deserved to be picked first or show why we were picked second," said head coach Jason Brown.

"We also get a warm-up match against Grand Canyon who is a really good team as well that has spent a lot of time in the national rankings. So, we'll go down to Arizona and see what we can do. We've done everything we can to prepare for it. We've played some altitude matches and built some good confidence last week outdoors. It's our second conference match and we've still got a lot to work out, so I'm excited for the challenge."

SCOUTING GCU: As little as a week ago Grand Canyon was right there with the Griz as one of the few nationally ranked mid-major programs in the Western United States, slotting in at a high of No. 62 while UM spent a week at No. 69.

At 9-3 on the year, the 'Lopes schedule closely resembles UM's so far this season. Like Montana, GCU is also coming off a recent 4-2 victory over Saint Mary's and dropped a lopsided 4-0 decision at Pacific as well. Of note, the 'Lopes have also earned a victory Montana knows all about, taking down Montana State in Phoenix in mid-February 5-2.

But Montana holds the advantage on the scoreboard, sitting at 2-0 in the last five years against GCU, beating the 'Lopes 4-1 in Missoula in 2024 and 6-1 in a neutral match in Boise back in 2021.

SCOUTING NAU: The Lumberjacks are no stranger to success on the tennis court, especially in Flagstaff. While NAU has clinched at least a share of the regular season Big Sky title in four of the last five seasons, it's the 7,000+ feet of altitude at their home venue that has been their secret weapon.

Opposing coaches liken playing high in the thin air of the Colorado Plateau to "playing tennis on the moon," and it's a big reason why NAU is an incredible 70-5 in Flagstaff over the last decade.

GRIZ TRACKS: Junior Eivind Tandberg earned Montan's nomination for Big Sky Player of the Week on Monday after going 3-1 in singles and clinching both of Montana's wins in the Grizzlies' four match trip to California, leading UM to wins over Sacramento State and Saint Mary's.

Tandberg clinched the win over Sac State by taking a tiebreaker in the first set then cruising to victory in the second over David Dai 7-6 (4), 6-2, on Friday. He was also Montana's only winner against Nevada in the second match of the day, beating Greg Valente 7-5, 6-4, at SAC's Golden State Invitational.

On Saturday he clinched for the Griz again, beating Francisco Duran of Saint Mary's with a first set tiebreaker 7-6 (5), 6-4. The Norwegian is now 9-3 on the season in dual singles.

• Freshman Duncan McCall also put in a strong performance for the Griz in California, going 3-0 on the weekend and earning UM's only win over Pacific, with each of his wins coming in straight sets.

In his first year of college tennis, the New Zealander is now 9-2 on the season and has been a revelation for the Griz, steadily climbing the lineup and playing most of his tennis on courts two and three.

• Tom Bittner, a unanimous first-team all-conference pick a year ago, has started his junior year strong but heads south this weekend looking to climb out of a slump. After getting off to a 6-0 start, he's now come up short in three-consecutive matches as he recovers from injury and faces top competition on court one.

• Doubles have been one of Montana's strong suits this season as winners in nine of 13 opening rounds. The Griz have been led by the junior/senior combo of Baltazar Wiger-Nordas and Fernando Perez, who enter the week at 5-1 this season.

UP NEXT: Montana continues to go 1-for-2 in conference road matches next week, traveling to the Wasatch Front to take on Utah State on March 21 in Logan before heading to Ogden to face Weber State (picked to finish third behind UM in the preseason poll) on March 23.

The Griz will then play four of their last five matches in the cozy confines of the Peak Racquet Club in Missoula to round-out the regular season, capped with the annual Brawl of the Wild match against Montana State on April 19.

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Players Mentioned

Tom Bittner

Duncan McCall

Fernando Perez

Eivind Tandberg

Baltazar Wiger-Nordas

University of Montana Athletics