PHOENIX – The Idaho men's tennis team has its sights set on the 2023 Big Sky Championships with a quarterfinal matchup against the Montana Grizzlies at the Phoenix Tennis Center. The quarterfinal action kicks off Thursday, April 27 at 8 a.m. Pacific Time.
The Vandals (12-8, 5-2) recently locked up the three seed after defeating Weber State 6-1 at home on Saturday with a sweep in singles action. The dominant showing in singles featured straight-set wins in each of Idaho's top six positions.
BIG SKY CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY
Idaho looks to defend its 2022 championship title and seek its 15th Big Sky championship in school history.
The Vandals and Grizzlies will meet for the second consecutive season in the conference tournament. Despite losing the doubles point in the semifinals last season against Montana, the Vandals rallied off four wins at the first four positions in singles for a dominant 4-1 finish. Facing Montana State in the championship, Idaho once again fell in doubles action but took four out of six in singles play to earn a 4-3 victory and secure the 2022 Big Sky Tournament trophy.
The Vandals have won four of the last seven Big Sky Championships with titles in 2015, 2017, 2018, and 2022 (tournament was canceled in 2020 due to COVID-19).
Idaho men's tennis holds the most Big Sky Championships with 14. From 1966-73, the Vandals won eight consecutive Big Sky championships - the longest streak in men's tennis conference history.
SERIES HISTORY
The Vandals are 23-9 against the Grizzlies since 1995. Idaho most recently took a 5-2 win at Montana during the regular season on April 7. Francisco Bascon and Francisco Gay earned singles victories in straight sets at the one and two positions, respectively. Bruno Casino, Matteo Masala, and Taiyo Kurata notched three-set victories to complete a 5-2 victory.
SCOUTING THE GRIZZLIES
Montana enters tournament play at 10-11 with a 2-5 conference record. The Grizzlies' two conference wins came from 7-0 sweeps at home over Eastern Washington (Mar. 5) and Portland State (Apr. 8).
Gustav Theilgaard and Baltazar Wiger-Nordas lead Montana in singles play. Theilgaard posts a 9-6 record at No. 1 while Wiger-Nordas is 9-3 on the season.
The duo of George Russell and Theilgaard have been the most consistent pair for the Grizzlies with an 8-5 record on court one.
UP NEXT
If the Vandals advance to the semifinals of the Big Sky Championship, Idaho will face two-seeded Sacramento State on Friday at 8 a.m. Pacific Time. The championship will be played on Saturday at 8 a.m.
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