The University of Montana men’s tennis team took a 0-7 loss at the hands of the No. 63 Idaho Vandals in a neutral site match in Bozeman, Saturday. Montana drops to 2-2 with the loss while Idaho improves to 12-4.

Senior Mikolaj Borkowski logged Montana’s closest match, winning his first set, going to a 6-7 (4) tiebreaker in the second and then dropping a super tiebreaker 6-10 for the third. Borkowski was defeated by Artem Kuznetsov playing at the No. 2 position for the first time this season.

Following the match, Sophomore Carl Kuschke said, “It was tough for us, playing at some relative altitude for the first time this season.

“It was a great experience as a collegiate player, to play against a ranked team like Idaho. It puts your efforts into perspective. Seeing what they did well was a great example for us, we only wish that we had played a little better to meet the challenge.

“Playing a team that has done that well can give you a little breathing room mentally. You don’t necessarily expect to win at every position going in, so it’s not really a blow if you don’t. It can also be a little nerve-wracking to face guys that have a ranking and to pressure yourself to play at a higher level. It can go both ways.

“We are going to regroup from the match today and focus on our match tomorrow with MSU-a team that we are really looking forward to playing.

The Grizzlies begin competition with hosts Montana State Sunday at 10.a.m MT.   

Tennis Match Results
Idaho vs Montana
Mar 06, 2010 at Bozeman, Mont.

Idaho 7, Montana 0

Singles competition:
1. REED, Lachlan (UI) def. Raydner Ramos (UM) 6-1, 6-1
2. KUZNETSOV, Artem (UI) def. Mikolaj Borkowski (UM) 4-6, 7-6 (6-4), 7-6 (10-6)
3. SIMON, Adrian (UI) def. Carl Kuschke (UM) 6-4, 6-3
4. GLUKHOV, Stanislav (UI) def. Josh Smith (UM) 6-3, 7-5
5. JOITOIU, Alexandru (UI) def. David Cysneiros (UM) 7-6 (6-4), 6-2
6. SHIN, Alan (UI) def. Michael Facey (UM) 6-3, 6-2

Doubles competition:
1. REED, Lachlan/SIMON, Adrian (UI) def. Mikolaj Borkowski/Carl Kuschke (UM) 8-2
2. KUZNETSOV, Artem/JOITOIU, Alexandru (UI) def. David Cysneiros/Raydner Ramos (UM) 8-6
3. AKBAR, Abid/SHIN, Alan (UI) def. Josh Smith/Michael Facey (UM) 8-3

Match Notes:
Montana 2-2
Idaho 12-4