Grizzly men’s tennis dropped a close, 3-4 nonconference match Sunday to Montana State. The 4-8 Bobcats squeaked by after winning the imperative doubles point on a tiebreaker at No. 1 over 2-3 Montana.
Following play Sunday, 28-year UM coach Kris Nord said, “We had the match points necessary to top the ‘Cats today, but somehow let it go. The Montana state team played better than us when it counted and they deserved the win. We have a lot of work to do and I am hoping that our team can rebound in time for our conference meeting with this same MSU squad later this spring.”
The Bobcat/Grizzly rematch will take place as UM’s final match of the regular season on April 18.
The crucial point Sunday fell early on in the match, with UM senior Mikolaj Borkowski and sophomore Carl Kuschke going to a first-to-ten tiebreaker at 8-8 at No. 1 doubles with Bobcats Alberto Fuentes and Fletcher Keyes. After a few points, the Grizzlies had their serve broken by the two MSU players, resulting in a pattern that led to a 5-10 result in the tiebreaker and the 8-9 loss for the Grizzlies.
Following the match, Borkowski said, “It was extremely close competitively between our two teams. Every point truly counts when you enter a situation like that. In a tiebreaker, this is even more so. Carl and I simply got behind by a few in a situation where there was no room for error.”
The Grizzlies would fall 8-4 with Raydner Ramos and David Cysneiros at No. 2, but freshman Michael Facey and Indiana State transfer Josh Smith would bring in an 8-3 victory for the Griz. Montana State won the team doubles point 2-1.
Borkowski would rebound from the doubles loss to rout Corey Smith 6-0, 6-2 at No. 3 for the Grizzlies. The win would end Borkowski’s four-match losing streak.
Borkowski explained, “Corey (Smith) has typically played at No. 1 for MSU, though has been moving around due to some injuries. Though I was initially supposed to play Pawel (Turzanski), who is also Polish, at No.1, it was decided that Corey and I would compete most closely and he was playing at No. 3, so we had our match there.
“I turned out that I played my best of the year. I was able to capitalize on many chances throughout the match. I felt absolutely in-the-zone, and was able to come out a little more aggressively than normal, sadly, it did not go so well for the entire team.”
Corey Smith entered spring play ranked among the top 20 in the intermountain region, according to ITA Tennis, the collegiate tennis authority.
The Grizzlies would take important wins at No. 4 with Josh Smith as he defeated Fuentes 6-0, 6-1; and with Facey at No. 6 as the freshman defeated Perkins 6-3, 6-4. The two would be the only Grizzlies to combine for wins at both doubles and singles.
Grizzly David Cysneiros would hold the match-deciding point at No. 5, playing in the last match of the day with Esteban Ferrero. After a 7-5 loss in the first, Cysneiros would fall 6-3 in the second, yielding the pivotal point to the MSU team.
The Grizzlies would outscore the Bobcats 85-73 in games won on the day, yet fell short in regard to the timing of those wins, splitting set victories 8-8 with their opponents.
Tennis Match Results
Montana vs Montana State
Mar 07, 2010 at Bozeman, Mont.
Montana State 4, Montana 3
Singles competition:
1. TURANSKY, PAWEL (MSU) def. Raydner Ramos (UM) 6-7 (4-7), 6-4, 6-2
2. KEYES, Fletcher (MSU) def. Carl Kuschke (UM) 6-4, 6-4
3. Mikolaj Borkowski (UM) def. SMITH, Corey (MSU) 6-0, 6-2
4. Josh Smith (UM) def. FUENTES, Alberto (MSU) 6-0, 6-1
5. FERRERO, Esteban (MSU) def. David Cysneiros (UM) 7-5, 6-3
6. Michael Facey (UM) def. PERKINS, Myles (MSU) 6-3, 6-4
Doubles competition:
1. KEYES, Fletcher/FUENTES, Alberto (MSU) def. Mikolaj Borkowski/Carl Kuschke (UM) 9-8 (10-5)
2. TURANSKY, PAWEL/SMITH, Corey (MSU) def. David Cysneiros/Raydner Ramos (UM) 8-4
3. Michael Facey/Josh Smith (UM) def. PERKINS, Myles/FERRERO, Esteban (MSU) 8-3
Match Notes:
Montana 2-3
Montana State 4-8