Griz to open Big Sky play in Portland

"Season two begins Sunday" for the defending Big Sky champion Montana men's tennis team as UM officially begins the quest to return to the mountaintop this week when the Griz open conference play in a two match road trip to Oregon.

Montana (5-6, 0-0 BSC), heads to Rip City for a nonconference tuneup against the University of Portland (5-7, 0-0 WCC), traditionally a top team in the always-strong West Coast Conference, on March 13. UM then caps the trip with its Big Sky opener against Portland State (4-8, 1-1 BSC) on March 15.

The Griz face the Pilots at Noon (MT) on Friday at the Louisiana-Pacific Tennis Center, with links to live scoring and streaming available on the team's schedule page at GoGriz.com/MTEN. Montana will play the Vikings at 11 a.m. (MT) on Sunday at the Tualatin Hills Tennis Center in Beaverton where no live coverage is available.

Montana heads west after an up and down nonconference season that has seen the Griz battle through injury and illness while squaring off against some of the best teams in the west. Now the rubber hits the road for UM, howver, as the Griz look to enter the back half of the schedule with momentum against a pair of challenging opponents in Oregon.

"We want to start bringing our best tennis in March and April, and starting this week, that's what we're here to do. Season two begins on Sunday," said head coach Jason Brown.

"The University of Portland is always a great preview match for us when we make the trip to the Rose City. They've got a competitive program as always and they're well coached. Portland State started their season with a win against the Bobcats and are looking really tough at home, so we're going to have to bring it."

Historically, Portland has proven to be a challenging place for the Griz to win in conference play. Under Brown, UM has split the last four road matches against Portland State at 2-2 since 2018. This time, however, the Grizzlies are riding a four-match win streak against the Vikings, having won the last four meetings by a combined 25-3. Those three team points for PSU came on UM's last visit to Oregon when the Griz pulled out a 4-3 win in 2024.

Montana also enters Sunday's match (and the conference season as a whole) in an unfamiliar position, having the target squarely on their backs after winning the program's first Big Sky tournament title and advancing to the NCAA tournament for the first time in a decade last year. On paper, the Griz are stacked with all-conference performers from that championship team, and now it's time to prove it.

"There's a lot of parity this year in the Big Sky Conference. I don't think there are any easy matches. I don't think there is anyone you can overlook, and we're certainly not overlooking Portland State. I think they're hungry and we know we've got a target on our back this entire season. That's what you get when you win, and hopefully we can find a way to embrace that and come out ready to defend our crown," added Brown.

SCOUTING THE GRIZ: Montana has been paced this season by a core four freshmen, underclassmen and newcomers to the squad who have picked up crucial wins in the bottom half of the lineup. Sophomore Duncan McCall, the reigning Big Sky Freshman of the Year, it tied for the most wins on the team at 6-3 while earning four of those wins playing up on court two.

Freshman Matt Upton has also logged six singles wins at 6-4 on the season, sitting 5-0 on court three, while another newcomer, junior Joseph Townes is also tied for the team high in singles wins at 6-2. Sophomore Johnny Wilkinson has been another key contributor at 5-3 in singles.

Montana heads to Portland on the heels of a 1-2 appearance at the Boise State Spring Invitational where the Griz dropped a 4-3 battle to Idaho State and fell to the No. 66 Broncos before capping the trip with a momentum-building 4-3 win over Idaho. Looking ahead, the Griz will need the momentum with UM heads to Moscow to play the Vandals next week but will enjoy home court advantages in the conference dual with ISU on April 10.

SCOUTING THE PILOTS: Portland was picked fifth in the WCC preseason poll and has earned wins in three of their last five matches, including a 6-1 win over Montana State. Early in the year the Pilots also win the crosstown dual against Portland State 7-0. They're led by junior Cade Fernando, who has racked up a 15-6 singles record this season, and Lucas Kimelman who enters the week with 13 wins.

SCOUTING THE VIKINGS: Portland State also pulled out a home win over MSU back in late February and returns home this week after losing three matches in Arizona – two against Grand Canyon and the always-tricky road conference dual at altitude in Flagstaff against NAU, where they fell 1-6. The Vikings have three players who lead the team with three singles wins, including Hampus Hagglund – the lone player to earn a win last week at Northern Arizona.

UP NEXT: Montana is back on the road for another pair of matches in Idaho, taking on the Vandals March 20 and Lewis-Clark State on March 21. The Griz then return home to cap the regular season with four of their last five conference duals in the friendly confines of the Peak Racquet Club. UM will face four of the perennially strongest teams in the league at home, including Weber State (April 3), NAU (April 5), ISU (April 10), and Sac State (April 12), before wrapping up the regular season in Bozeman on April 18. The Big Sky tournament is once again slated to be held in Phoenix Apri. 23-25.

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Players Mentioned

Duncan McCall

Joseph Townes

Matt Upton

Johnny Wilkinson

University of Montana Athletics