Griz head to Utah for pair of duals

On the heels of a mixed bag weekend that featured one of the season's biggest road wins and a frustrating conference loss, the Montana men's tennis team returns to action with another split road trip that presents another big opportunity.

The Griz head south again this week, traveling to face Utah State in a nonconference dual on Friday at Noon, before facing Weber State in an important Big Sky showdown on Sunday at 11. a.m.

For the second-straight week the Griz open the trip against another team that, like them, has spent time in the national rankings, followed by a conference matchup that features two of the top three teams in the league's preseason coaches' poll.

Montana heads to Utah riding high at 11-4 – the best overall winning percentage in the league. But at 1-1 in conference play, the Grizzlies' real season is just getting started. If Montana is to secure one of the coveted six spots in the conference tournament in Phoenix at the end of April, Sunday's match at Weber could prove pivotal.

"We're excited to go compete again. I'm excited to see everyone compete and see what the Griz can give the Aggies, and we've obviously had some great back-and-forth battles with Weber. They're always tough. I enjoy the challenge and am looking forward to playing them," said head coach Jason Brown

"This weekend is very similar to last, but the real focus is for us to have a good result in the conference match. We talked a little this week about getting back to the process. We learned a lot from the loss last weekend, we got to reevaluate some things, and especially when a season is going so well that's important to do. We almost needed some things to learn from so we're firing on all cylinders a month from now in Phoenix."

THE SLATE: Like they did last week at Grand Canyon, the Griz open the trip to the Beehive State with a challenging nonconference dual against a team that, like the Griz, has spent time in the national rankings this season.

This time Montana faces Utah State, who peaked just ahead of UM in the ITA rankings at No. 65 the same week the Griz were ranked No. 69 nationally on Feb. 20. Since then, the Aggies (8-6, 1-0 MWC) have gone 3-3 with wins over Big Sky opponents in Idaho State (4-3) and Montana State (5-2) and three losses at Arizona State's invitational against Washington, UTSA, and Liberty.

UM trails in the all-time series against USU 8-9, with the Aggies riding a three-match win streak that includes a closer-than-the-score-would-indicate 4-0 win over UM in Boise last season. It's been tough sledding for UM in Logan, however, trailing 4-1 in true road matches since their last visit in 2015.

Links to live video and scoring of the match from the Sports Academy & Racquet Club in Logan can be found at GoGriz.com.

Montana then takes the hour drive south to Ogden where the Griz return to conference play with an important dual against Weber State (7-7, 3-1 BSC) who was picked third behind the Griz in the Big Sky's preseason coaches' poll.

Perennially two of the top programs in the Big Sky, the Griz and Wildcats have battled through several tight matches in recent years, with UM leading the series 3-2 in the last five years but trailing 4-7 over the last 10 seasons and sitting 0-4 in Ogden in that time.

The two teams have swapped scores in the last two meetings, with UM winning last year 5-2 in Missoula and falling 2-5 in 2023 in Utah. This year's matchup is shaping up to be another tight one on paper.

The Wildcats enter the match sitting third in the current Big Sky standings at 3-1 in conference play with three home wins over Montana State (6-1), Idaho State (4-3), and Sacramento State (6-1), and a 7-0 loss at Northern Arizona – the same score the Griz played to.

It's also a round-robin of sorts between the three teams this week Utah State heading to Ogden to face the Wildcats in a nonconference dual on Thursday.

A GLIMPSE AT THE GRIZ: Montana has received a boost from a pair of newcomers this season, with freshman Duncan McCall and junior Eivind Tandberg (a greyshirt at UM last spring) heading to Utah as the only Grizzlies to eclipse the 10-win mark in singles so far this season. McCall and his doubles partner, fellow freshman Johnny Wilkinson are also the only Grizzlies to pass the 10-win mark as a pair at 10-5.

Grizzly No. 1 Tom Bittner has been battling through injury to re-emerge as one of the top overall players in the Big Sky again this season, entering the week at 6-5 overall. Senior Chris Zhang has also had a strong season at the bottom of the lineup at 6-2 overall in singles.

UP NEXT: Montana returns home for the first time since mid-January next week as the Griz prepare to play four of their last five matches of the regular season in the friendly confines of the Peak Racquet Club in Missoula.

The Griz open the homestand on March 29 against Portland State and Idaho on March 30 before traveling to Idaho State on April 4. UM then caps the year at home against Eastern Washington and Montana State on April 12 and 19, respectively.

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Players Mentioned

Tom Bittner

Duncan McCall

Eivind Tandberg

Johnny Wilkinson

Chris Zhang

University of Montana Athletics