Griz tennis to play final regular-season matches

The University of Montana tennis teams will close out the Big Sky Conference regular season this weekend.

The men’s team, currently in the sixth and final playoff spot, wrap up the season by hosting three conference opponents.

The Grizzlies open the weekend against Montana State at 1 p.m. Friday, a match scheduled to be played outside at the Lindsay Tennis Center on campus.

Montana will also face Northern Colorado on Saturday and Eastern Washington on Sunday, with both matches beginning at 11 a.m. If weather forecasts hold true, the weekend matches will be moved indoors to the former Missoula Athletic Club.

Coach Kris Nord said this weekend is a good preview of the atmosphere at the conference tournament.

It will be a challenge physically and mentally to play three consecutive matches, Nord said. 

The top two teams receive first-round byes at conference; because the sixth-place Grizzlies will finish outside of the top two they will have to face three straight opponents to win the conference meet, hosted by Sacramento State.

Sophomore Mikolaj Borkowski said the Griz are focusing on the matches this weekend one at a time, while keeping the conference ramifications in the backs of their minds.

“Once you step on the court your focus is on that match and not until the match is over do you analyze what it means,” Borkowski said.

Idaho State lost its season finale at Weber State on Wednesday. With the Bengals’ loss, the Griz clinched a postseason berth, but with a few wins the team could potentially get a higher seed. Mathematically, Montana could finish as high as third.

Nord said a higher seed is important, but it doesn’t necessarily make conference any easier. 

“A higher seed makes that first day match a little easier,” Nord said. “But at conference there is no easy match.”

Borkowski said building momentum and confidence for conference is more important than gaining a higher seed.

“It is a good test for us to play three good matches,” he said. “It is also very important because it’s three conference matches. If we get the momentum going and play good matches here, hopefully we will play good matches (at conference).”

The women’s team has also clinched a spot in the conference tournament, and is currently in fifth place.

The team wraps up its season on the road with matches against Idaho State and Weber State. 

Montana faces the Bengals at 10 a.m. today before closing out its regular season against the Wildcats 2 p.m. Saturday.

Montana can finish as high as third or fall one spot to sixth depending on how this weekend’s matches shake out. 

Junior Liz Walker said the potential of getting a higher seed in conference is motivating the team even more to be successful this weekend.

“You always want to go out and win, but the possibility of moving up gives us even more motivation to do our best,” she said. “So hopefully we will face a little easier team, if there is such a thing in the Big Sky Conference.”

Like those on the men’s side, Walker said this weekend is all about preparing for the league tournament.

“This weekend is pretty important confidence wise,” she said. “It’s all about momentum and getting some good wins heading into Sacramento.”