LEWISTON, Idaho – Idaho men's tennis delivered its third consecutive home victory, defeating Montana 5-2 on Saturday evening at the LCSC Tennis Center. The Vandals snapped their three-match losing streak to the Griz and ended the season 5-1 on their home court.  

"We have talked about getting better every single day at practice and the goal is to peak in April and May," Idaho head coach Daniel Hangstefer said. "I feel like we are doing that right now. We are finally putting it together in singles and the doubles. It is a good spot to be in but we still have some unfinished business to take care of." 

Idaho earned the doubles point after winning at two of three positions to take an early 1-0 lead. Francisco Gay and Mario Duron moved to an impressive 6-1 on the season as partners after defeating Montana's Lawrence Sciglitano and Moritz Stoeger, 6-3. At No.1, Francisco Bascon and Bruno Casino followed with a 7-5 victory. 

The Griz tied the score back up at 1-1 after Sciglitano won over Casino 6-3, 6-3 at No. 3. Gay answered right back with a 7-6 (7-5), 6-4 victory over Oisin Shaffrey at the No. 2 spot. The Argentine picked up his fourth win of the weekend in both singles and doubles action.

Sophomore Matteo Masala kept his perfect streak alive in conference action, as he moved to 7-0 after beating Gustav Theilgaard in three sets 7-5, 3-6, 6-1. The victory at No. 4 increased Idaho's lead to 3-1.

All eyes turned to court one as Bascon and Pudney were locked in a battle that went the distance. Bascon fell in the opening set 6-3 before answering with a 6-3 win in set two. Bascon carried his momentum into the final frame, defeating Pudney 6-3 to clinch the match win for the Vandals. 

Alex Asenov added Idaho's fifth point of the contest with a dominant win over Milo Benn. Asenov moved to 4-4 overall after beating Benn 6-2, 6-0 at the No. 6 spot. 

With Idaho heading into the final match of the season versus Portland State, the Vandals will be playing for a potential chance at a share of the Big Sky regular-season title. An Idaho win over the Vikings and Montana victory over Montana State will clinch the No. 1 seed for the Vandals as they hold the tiebreaker over the Grizzlies. A win for the Bobcats and a victory for Idaho will then lock up the two-seed for the Silver and Gold. 

The Vandals will travel to face Portland State Saturday, April 23 at 10 a.m. to finish out regular season action.

MATCH RESULTS

Idaho 5, Montana 2

Singles competition
1. Francisco Bascon (ID) def. PUDNEY,Ed (UM) 3-6, 6-3, 6-3
2. Francisco Gay (ID) def. SHAFFREY,Oisin (UM) 7-6 (7-5), 6-4
3. SCIGLITANO,Lawrence (UM) def. Bruno Casino (ID) 6-3, 6-3
4. Matteo Masala (ID) def. THEILGAARD,Gustav (UM) 7-5, 3-6, 6-1
5. STOEGER,Moritz (UM) def. Mario Duron Garza (ID) 6-7 (3-5), 7-6 (3-1), 1-0 (10-4)
6. Alex Asenov (ID) def. BENN,Milo (UM) 6-2, 6-0

Doubles competition
1. Francisco Bascon/Bruno Casino (ID) def. PUDNEY,Ed/SHAFFREY,Oisin (UM) 7-5
2. BENN,Milo/THEILGAARD,Gustav (UM) def. Alex Asenov/Matteo Masala (ID) 6-4
3. Francisco Gay/Mario Duron Garza (ID) def. SCIGLITANO,Lawrence/STOEGER,Moritz (UM) 6-3

Match Notes:
Montana 14-3, 5-2 BSC
Idaho 9-11, 5-2 BSC
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (3,2,4,1,6,5)

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