Friday, April 10
Missoula, Mont.
11 AM
Montana
vs
Idaho State
Photo by: Marley Barboeisel/University of Montana
Griz host Bengals and Hornets to close out 2026 home slate
4/9/2026 3:20:00 PM | Men's Tennis
The Montana men's tennis team gets back on the proverbial horse and continues its ride toward Big Sky championship tournament this week with another pair of crucial league duals in the friendly confines of the Peak Racquet Club.
After dropping a heartbreaker to Northern Arizona on Easter Sunday, the defending conference tournament champion Grizzlies look to rebound this week as Idaho State and Sacramento State – two more of the perennially strongest teams in the league – visit Missoula to close out UM's 2026 home slate.
Montana will have revenge on its mind when the Bengals come to town on Friday, April 10, at 11 a.m. for the official league meeting between the two rivals after ISU got the best of UM 4-2 on a neutral court at the Boise State tournament in early March.
The Griz then cap the weekend on Sunday, April 12, at 10:30 a.m. with their final regular season dual against the Hornets as Big Sky opponents, looking to make it three straight wins over the visitors from the California state capitol.
"April is championship season in college tennis. So, it's time for us to show up and get it done, especially at home. The guys have responded really nicely after obviously a heartbreaking loss to NAU, and we still have plenty to play for," said head coach Jason Brown.
"We're aiming for a top two seed and a bye at the tournament which puts us in a better spot to retain our title, so there's no lack of motivation from the guys this week. Both teams coming in are super competitive and I expect nothing less than huge battles."
COVERAGE: Links to live scoring of both matches can be found at the team's schedule page on GoGriz.com/MTEN. Social media updates are also available @MontanaGrizMTEN.
IMPLICATIONS: Montana (10-7, 3-1 BSC) enters the weekend sitting second in the conference standings after falling to NAU last week, which has now clinched at least a share of the regular season title at 6-0.
Idaho State sits right behind UM in third at 3-2 in league play, riding a wave of momentum with four straight wins, including a 5-2 victory over Sac State and a 6-1 demolition of Montana State in Pocatello.
With just the top six teams in the standings advancing to the conference tourney in Phoenix at the end of the month, the Hornets come to Missoula in must-win territory, currently sitting seventh on the table at 1-3 in Big Sky action. They're a team on the up, however, having won three of their last four duals, including a 4-2 win over a common Grizzly opponent in UC San Diego, whom UM beat 6-1 in Missoula in February.
With five of the tops six teams sitting at either two or three conference wins, the standings remain a spaghetti bowl of opportunity for nearly every team in the league this week. A pair of wins for the Griz would go a long way toward separating them and clinching the No. 2 seed in the tourney.
FAMILIAR FOES: Montana has been closely linked with these two opponents over the last calendar year. Not only did the Griz face the Bengals in a nonconference, neutral site dual at Boise earlier this season, they also traveled to ISU to play in the Bengal Fall Invitational Tournament in September.
Further back, as the No. 3 seed in last year's Big Sky championship tournament the Griz had to get past both the Hornets (the No. 6 seed), and the Bengals (the No. 2 seed) before taking down NAU in the title match and punching their ticket to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in a decade.
"We know Idaho State really well. We know their players and how competitive they are. We'll need to take care of doubles and find some victories up and down the singles lineup to beat them," said Brown.
"Sac State has a first-year head coach, but they have a proud tennis tradition. They're never getting overlooked by anyone in this league, so we need to be ready to go on Sunday."
GRIZ TRACKS: Montana has been enjoying strong starts over the past month with newly formed pairings leading to six-straight doubles points for the Griz, putting them out to 1-0 leads in each of the last six duals to stay undefeated in league play.
Not only have they won six straight rounds (best two of three courts in play), they've also won every match in play. And if a match was unfinished, the Griz were in a position to win that.
It's been nothing short of dominance in the all-important doubles round. With a pair of returning all-conference doubles players (Duncan McCall and Johnny Wilkinson) and one of the top 10 ranked doubles players in the region (Baltazar Wiger-Nordas) all back this year, it's likely to be a key in helping UM push for another title.
"I don't think we've ever made it more than halfway through the conference season without losing a doubles match," added Brown.
"We've had great energy. The guys all really enjoy playing with each other and you can see that. We have a lot of belief. Overall doubles has been really good and a reason we are 3-1 in conference and could have easily been 4-0. I give our doubles a ton of credit for that."
• McCall, Wilkinson and Wiger-Nordas have again been UM's most consistent doubles winners all season, with each sitting at either 9-3 or 10-3 as individuals in the round.
• McCall (last year's Big Sky Freshman of the Year) is poised for more conference honors in singles as well this season with a 10-5 record overall (the most wins on the team) and 3-1 in conference play on court three.
Newcomers Joseph Townes and Matt Upton have each tallied the second most singles wins on the squad at nine each, putting Upton in the conversation for Freshman of the Year this season as well.
• Tom Bittner, the reigning Big Sky tourney MVP, has seemingly found his form at the business end of the season. The senior No. 1 has won two straight singles matches and three straight doubles sets over the past few weeks, highlighted by a thrilling 6-2, 4-6, 7-6(4) tiebreaker win against Northern Arizona's Noa Tcherniak.
• Brown enters the weekend on the cusp of earning his 40th Big Sky Conference win in his nine years as a UM head coach, currently at 39-23 in league play. Two wins this weekend could put him at 50 career home wins as well, now sitting at an impressive 48-9 in Missoula.
UP NEXT: Montana travels to Bozeman on April 18 for the annual Brawl of the Wild match, with the dual getting underway at 1 p.m. Montana is then likely advance to the Big Sky championship tournament in Arizona, held April 23-25 at the Phoenix Tennis Center.
After dropping a heartbreaker to Northern Arizona on Easter Sunday, the defending conference tournament champion Grizzlies look to rebound this week as Idaho State and Sacramento State – two more of the perennially strongest teams in the league – visit Missoula to close out UM's 2026 home slate.
Montana will have revenge on its mind when the Bengals come to town on Friday, April 10, at 11 a.m. for the official league meeting between the two rivals after ISU got the best of UM 4-2 on a neutral court at the Boise State tournament in early March.
The Griz then cap the weekend on Sunday, April 12, at 10:30 a.m. with their final regular season dual against the Hornets as Big Sky opponents, looking to make it three straight wins over the visitors from the California state capitol.
"April is championship season in college tennis. So, it's time for us to show up and get it done, especially at home. The guys have responded really nicely after obviously a heartbreaking loss to NAU, and we still have plenty to play for," said head coach Jason Brown.
"We're aiming for a top two seed and a bye at the tournament which puts us in a better spot to retain our title, so there's no lack of motivation from the guys this week. Both teams coming in are super competitive and I expect nothing less than huge battles."
COVERAGE: Links to live scoring of both matches can be found at the team's schedule page on GoGriz.com/MTEN. Social media updates are also available @MontanaGrizMTEN.
IMPLICATIONS: Montana (10-7, 3-1 BSC) enters the weekend sitting second in the conference standings after falling to NAU last week, which has now clinched at least a share of the regular season title at 6-0.
Idaho State sits right behind UM in third at 3-2 in league play, riding a wave of momentum with four straight wins, including a 5-2 victory over Sac State and a 6-1 demolition of Montana State in Pocatello.
With just the top six teams in the standings advancing to the conference tourney in Phoenix at the end of the month, the Hornets come to Missoula in must-win territory, currently sitting seventh on the table at 1-3 in Big Sky action. They're a team on the up, however, having won three of their last four duals, including a 4-2 win over a common Grizzly opponent in UC San Diego, whom UM beat 6-1 in Missoula in February.
With five of the tops six teams sitting at either two or three conference wins, the standings remain a spaghetti bowl of opportunity for nearly every team in the league this week. A pair of wins for the Griz would go a long way toward separating them and clinching the No. 2 seed in the tourney.
FAMILIAR FOES: Montana has been closely linked with these two opponents over the last calendar year. Not only did the Griz face the Bengals in a nonconference, neutral site dual at Boise earlier this season, they also traveled to ISU to play in the Bengal Fall Invitational Tournament in September.
Further back, as the No. 3 seed in last year's Big Sky championship tournament the Griz had to get past both the Hornets (the No. 6 seed), and the Bengals (the No. 2 seed) before taking down NAU in the title match and punching their ticket to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in a decade.
"We know Idaho State really well. We know their players and how competitive they are. We'll need to take care of doubles and find some victories up and down the singles lineup to beat them," said Brown.
"Sac State has a first-year head coach, but they have a proud tennis tradition. They're never getting overlooked by anyone in this league, so we need to be ready to go on Sunday."
GRIZ TRACKS: Montana has been enjoying strong starts over the past month with newly formed pairings leading to six-straight doubles points for the Griz, putting them out to 1-0 leads in each of the last six duals to stay undefeated in league play.
Not only have they won six straight rounds (best two of three courts in play), they've also won every match in play. And if a match was unfinished, the Griz were in a position to win that.
It's been nothing short of dominance in the all-important doubles round. With a pair of returning all-conference doubles players (Duncan McCall and Johnny Wilkinson) and one of the top 10 ranked doubles players in the region (Baltazar Wiger-Nordas) all back this year, it's likely to be a key in helping UM push for another title.
"I don't think we've ever made it more than halfway through the conference season without losing a doubles match," added Brown.
"We've had great energy. The guys all really enjoy playing with each other and you can see that. We have a lot of belief. Overall doubles has been really good and a reason we are 3-1 in conference and could have easily been 4-0. I give our doubles a ton of credit for that."
• McCall, Wilkinson and Wiger-Nordas have again been UM's most consistent doubles winners all season, with each sitting at either 9-3 or 10-3 as individuals in the round.
• McCall (last year's Big Sky Freshman of the Year) is poised for more conference honors in singles as well this season with a 10-5 record overall (the most wins on the team) and 3-1 in conference play on court three.
Newcomers Joseph Townes and Matt Upton have each tallied the second most singles wins on the squad at nine each, putting Upton in the conversation for Freshman of the Year this season as well.
• Tom Bittner, the reigning Big Sky tourney MVP, has seemingly found his form at the business end of the season. The senior No. 1 has won two straight singles matches and three straight doubles sets over the past few weeks, highlighted by a thrilling 6-2, 4-6, 7-6(4) tiebreaker win against Northern Arizona's Noa Tcherniak.
• Brown enters the weekend on the cusp of earning his 40th Big Sky Conference win in his nine years as a UM head coach, currently at 39-23 in league play. Two wins this weekend could put him at 50 career home wins as well, now sitting at an impressive 48-9 in Missoula.
UP NEXT: Montana travels to Bozeman on April 18 for the annual Brawl of the Wild match, with the dual getting underway at 1 p.m. Montana is then likely advance to the Big Sky championship tournament in Arizona, held April 23-25 at the Phoenix Tennis Center.
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