Griz upset bid falls short against Utah State

Sunday, January 25

Missoula, Mont.

10:30 AM

Montana

Utah State

Photo by: Marley Barboeisel/University of Montana

1/25/2026 4:56:00 PM | Men's Tennis

Box Score Photo Gallery

By: Montana Sports Information

The Montana men's tennis team came just short of an upset in a back-and-forth battle against Utah State, falling to the Aggies 4-3 in UM's season opener at Missoula's Peak Racquet Club on Sunday.

The Griz opened the match with a big win in the doubles round to take a 1-0 lead and the momentum heading into singles. Utah State would rebound, however, winning three of the top four singles matches and fending off a late Montana comeback to take the nonconference dual victory.

The Griz (who finished ranked No. 7 in last year's regional rankings) earned the doubles point and two singles wins over the Aggies (ranked No. 6 in the region), but an upset of the perennial Mountain West Conference contender was not in the cards.

Reigning Big Sky Freshman of the Year Duncan McCall earned a three-set win over USU's Elliot Nobel, who had beaten McCall at the ITA Regional Tournament in the fall. Fellow Grizzly sophomore Johnny Wilkinson also earned a bounce-back three-set win, beating Jakub Medved in the final match.

McCall and Wilkinson, an All-Big Sky doubles partnership last season, also clinched the opening point for UM with a 7-5 victory over USU's Alex/Calvelo pair.

Montana, the preseason Big Sky favorite, drops to 0-1 early in the schedule while Utah State improves to 2-1.

"We knew coming into this match we need to get better and there were a lot of first match jitters for us, but It's also January. No shame in that loss. The better team won today. Utah State is well coached and really solid up and down the lineup," said head coach Jason Brown.

"I'm proud of our super sophomores Duncan and Johnny for both clinching doubles and getting outstanding three-set wins. They lost in their first sets but were great problem solvers, figured it out, and earned gritty wins."

Montana opened the match on the front foot, grinding out a pair of wins in the doubles round to go up 1-0 in the team score and take momentum into singles. UM started from behind, with the freshman duo of Joseph Townes and Matt Upton falling 3-6 to the Aggies' Badon/Pasanen pair on court three.

The Griz wouldn't stay behind for long though. Montana's top two pairs both picked up break points to take early leads on courts one and two, with Tom Bittner and Baltazar Wiger-Nordas going up 2-1 on court one and McCall and Wilkinson up 3-0 on two.

Despite an Aggie fight back, both Grizzly pairs held serve at crucial moments to go up 5-4 on both courts. Bittner and Wiger-Nordas then broke to take the 6-4 win on one and even the round, while the McCall/Wilkinson pair held serve at 7-5 to clinch the doubles round for the Griz.

The top of the Utah State lineup showed its class in singles, however. Xavier Calvelo seemingly couldn't miss in a 6-2, 6-4 win over Wiger-Nordas on court two that tied the match 1-1. Likewise on court one, Jean-Baptiste Badon – the former junior college national player of the year – knocked-off Bittner in straight sets (6-4, 6-3) to extend the visitors lead, 2-1.

On court four, Upton, a freshman playing his first college dual, tied his second set 4-4 but was unable to force a third in a 3-6, 4-6 loss to Roman Venger that put USU out to a 3-1 lead, and what started as a potential win for the Griz looked as though it was slipping away.

McCall got Montana's mojo back on court three, however, shaking off the rust in a first set loss to dominate Nobel 2-6, 6-0, 6-1, losing just one game in the last 13 to take a convincing win and close the gap in the team score at 3-2.

"Duncan put on a clinic in his final two sets. I mean, 0 and 1 against the guy he lost to at regionals shows a lot of growth from him," Brown added.

With the result of the dual coming down to the outcomes on courts five and six, Montana's hopes were still alive as Wilkinson rebounded from a first set loss to win his second set, teeing-up a crucial third frame.

The Grizzlies' hopes for an upset slipped away in the meantime though as Moritz Lesjak dropped his match on court six, falling to Emmanual Alex 6-3, 6-3, to clinch the team victory for Utah State at 4-2.

Wilkinson was not deterred, however, continuing on to beat Jakub Medved 6-3 in the third set to make it a 4-3 final.

The Griz now prepare for a home doubleheader as the Whitworth Pirates visit Missoula on Feb. 1, with the first match starting at 9 a.m. and the second of the day at 1 p.m.

"We're going to have a hard week of training, get a couple more matches in next weekend, get better at tennis and be ready when it really starts counting," said Brown.

Utah State 4, Montana 3
1/25/26
Missoula, Mont. / Peak Racquet Club

Singles Results
1 Jean-Baptiste Badon (USU) def. Tom Bittner (UM) 6-4, 6-3
2 Xavier Calvelo (USU) def. Baltazar Wiger-Nordas (UM) 6-2, 6-4
3 Duncan McCall (UM) def. Eliot Nobel (USU) 2-6, 6-0, 6-1
4 Roman Venger (USU) def. Matt Upton (UM) 6-3, 6-4
5 Johnny Wilkinson (UM) def. Jakub Medved (USU) 5-7, 6-4, 6-3
6 Emmanuel Alex (USU) def. Moritz Lesjak (UM) 6-3, 6-3

Doubles Results
1 Bittner/Wiger-Nordas (UM) def. Medved/Nobel (USU) 6-4
2 McCall/Wilkinson (UM) def. Alex/Calvelo (USU) 7-5
3 Badon/Pasanen (USU) def. Townes/Upton (UM) 6-3