Tennis team travels to California for Big Sky Championships

The University of Montana tennis teams get to escape the cold and unpredictable Montana weather to pursue a conference championship in the warm California sun.

Both the men’s and women’s tennis teams begin post-season play today at the Big Sky Conference Championships in Gold River, Calif.

The sixth-ranked men’s team faces off against No. 3 Weber State, while the No. 4 women play fifth-ranked Eastern Washington. Both matches start at 11 a.m. .

The women’s team (8-11, 5-3 BSC) ended the regular season with four wins in five matches. Head coach Jen Anderson hopes to keep that momentum going into this weekend’s tournament.

“Everyone is playing so well right now,” Anderson said. “We’ve gotten good wins out of people who have had tough losses. They’ve won when I needed them to win.”

Eastern Washington isn’t a team to be overlooked, Anderson said, despite the fact Montana beat them soundly 5-2 during the regular season.

“They are a pretty tough team,” Anderson said. “One of their goals for the last couple years was to beat us. So it will be tough for us, from the No. 1 spot all the way to the No. 6.”

Anderson said she is looking for her lone senior, Mari Castello, to lead the way for Montana.

“I definitely feel she will step up,” Anderson said. “She’s been really vocal, cheering on the other girls. She’s stepped up into a leadership role.”

Top-ranked Sacramento State is the team everyone is gunning for. The Hornets are currently No. 48 in the nation, boasting only one loss this season.

“They’re the team everyone wants to beat,” Anderson said. “No match is easy, but everyone definitely wants to beat Sac State.”

The other quarterfinal matchup is between No. 3 Montana State and No. 6 Northern Colorado. The quarterfinal winners move onto Saturday to face either No. 1 Sac State or No. 2 Northern Arizona.

On the men’s side, Montana (7-8, 3-5 BSC) looks to avenge a 5-2 regular-season loss to Weber.

“It’s a totally different game,” said junior Felipe Raw. “Last time we played indoors and at their home. Now we’re playing outdoors at a different site,” Raw said. “I have a good feeling about it. We should pull it out.”

The men’s team faced Weber State just two weeks ago but this time, head coach Kris Nord is changing things up at the bottom of the lineup. In the first matchup, junior Raydner Ramos was at the No. 5 spot, while freshman David Cysneiros was at No. 6.

For today’s game, Ramos was bumped up to No. 4, Cysneiros to No. 5, while junior Alexandre Gorj rounds out the bottom at No. 6. Nord will keep his doubles the same as the last time these two teams met.

“Our guys have to play better to bump them off,” Nord said. “We’ve got our hands full. There will be different matchups at the bottom. I hope that helps.”

In the other quarterfinal men’s match, No. 4 Montana State takes on No. 5 Northern Arizona. Winners will move on to face No. 1 Sac State and No. 2 Eastern Washington.

This is the 19th straight postseason appearance for the women’s team and the 18th for the men. Both are looking for their first BSC championship.

It’s the second consecutive year that both Sacramento State’s men’s and women’s team took the top seeds and hosted the tournament.