Griz sweep Whitworth in Sunday dual

Sunday, February 1

Missoula, Mont.

1:30 PM

Montana

Whitworth

2/1/2026 4:30:00 PM | Men's Tennis

Box Score Photo Gallery

By: Montana Sports Information

The Montana men's tennis team made quick work of Whitworth on Sunday, putting on a clinical performance in a 7-0 sweep of the visiting Pirates in a nonconference dual at the Peak Racquet Club in Missoula.

With the win the Griz improved to 1-1 on the early season after dropping the home opener to Utah State last week. Whitworth falls to 1-3 on the year after dropping a pair of matches in Bozeman on Saturday to Montana State and Idaho State.

Montana started the dau with a pair of 6-1 wins to clinch the doubles point, then sealed the win with three straight-set victories in singles en route to the 7-0 sweep that saw the Griz lose just two games or less in 10 of the 12 total sets of singles.

"That was just what the guys needed. We were composed and had great execution. The guys were professional and did a great job from top to bottom. I think they all played really well and got to work on a few things, which was helpful," said head coach Jason Brown.

"It's nice to keep a regional rivalry going Whitworth. They're going to do a great job in their conference at the D-III level, so It think it was beneficial for everyone today."

UM opened the match with a convincing win in the doubles round. One of the top pairs in the region, Tom Bittner and Baltazar-Wiger-Nordas, breezed past the Pirates' Ashley/Preacher pair 6-1 at position one to start the Griz off. UM's All-Big Sky duo of Duncan McCall and Johnny Wilkinson then made quick work of the Froslan/Morrison pair in a 6-1 win to clinch the opening team point.

Bittner didn't skip a beat heading into singles. The Grizzly No. 1 was stayed at full stride and served big in a 6-1, 6-2 demolition of Matthew Morrison on court one to improve the Montana lead to 2-0.

Grizzly Freshman Matthew Upton was equally impressive on court three, rolling past Connor Judson 6-0, 6-1, in short order to make it a 3-0 UM lead.

Montana clinched the team win on court four when Wilkinson overcame a slow start to beat Helena's Ryan Ashley 6-3, 6-1 to put the Griz up for good 4-0.

UM newcomer Joseph Townes earned his first dual win as a Grizzly on court five, rolling past Matt Froslan 6-1, 6-1, to improve the Montana scoreline to 6-0.

The Griz then wrapped up the win with Moritz Lesjak breezing past Matt Hossack 6-0, 6-1 to make it a 7-0 final.

The Griz now step up the competition with a trip to Colorado's Front Range where Montana will face two more of the top six teams in the Mountain Region with a neutral site dual against Utah and a true road match at the University of Denver next weekend.