Friday, April 24
11 am MT
Montana State University
4
at
3
at Sacramento State (Big Sky Tournament)
Photo by: R. Dean Hendrickson
Bobcat Netmen Upend Sacramento State
4/24/2015 11:26:00 PM | Men's Tennis
Niklas Brandes wins clincher
Niklas Brandes wanted to keep playing.
Montana State's senior, playing at No. 3 singles, extended the Bobcats' season – and his career – by beating Sacramento State's Sean Kolar 3-6, 7-6, 7-6. Brandes overcame a 7-6 deficit in the third-set tie-breaker to record a 9-7 victory in the contest that clinched MSU's 4-3 win over the Hornets in Big Sky Championship Tournament action in Sacramento Friday.
"Nik could have folded," said Bobcat coach Jared Burnham. "There were several points where things went against him and he could have just given up. But he was strong. He fought hard, and he clinched the match."
The Bobcats got a jump-start on the match by winning the doubles point. Brandes and fellow senior Javier Martin-Morillas paired to power the Cats to the doubles victory. "That was huge for us," Burnham said.
Martin-Morillas also earned a straight-set singles victory over Kasparas Zemaitelis (6-4, 6-2), and junior Harry James set up Brandes' heroics with a come-from-behind of his own. James dropped the first set 2-6, then earned 6-2, 6-4 wins at No. 5 to give Brandes his chance to win it.
"Harry was tremendous," Burnham said. "He just battled and battled." James has been battling not only opponents but his own body, struggling for weeks with a balky ankle.
Fourth-seeded Montana State's win over No. 5 Sacramento State on the Hornets' home court avenges a similar defeat a season ago. It also boosts the Cats into the tournament's semifinals against second-seeded Idaho on Saturday at 11 am MT. In other men's action Friday, sixth-seeded Northern Arizona topped third-seeded Montana, and faces No. 1 Weber State next.
Montana State's senior, playing at No. 3 singles, extended the Bobcats' season – and his career – by beating Sacramento State's Sean Kolar 3-6, 7-6, 7-6. Brandes overcame a 7-6 deficit in the third-set tie-breaker to record a 9-7 victory in the contest that clinched MSU's 4-3 win over the Hornets in Big Sky Championship Tournament action in Sacramento Friday.
"Nik could have folded," said Bobcat coach Jared Burnham. "There were several points where things went against him and he could have just given up. But he was strong. He fought hard, and he clinched the match."
The Bobcats got a jump-start on the match by winning the doubles point. Brandes and fellow senior Javier Martin-Morillas paired to power the Cats to the doubles victory. "That was huge for us," Burnham said.
Martin-Morillas also earned a straight-set singles victory over Kasparas Zemaitelis (6-4, 6-2), and junior Harry James set up Brandes' heroics with a come-from-behind of his own. James dropped the first set 2-6, then earned 6-2, 6-4 wins at No. 5 to give Brandes his chance to win it.
"Harry was tremendous," Burnham said. "He just battled and battled." James has been battling not only opponents but his own body, struggling for weeks with a balky ankle.
Fourth-seeded Montana State's win over No. 5 Sacramento State on the Hornets' home court avenges a similar defeat a season ago. It also boosts the Cats into the tournament's semifinals against second-seeded Idaho on Saturday at 11 am MT. In other men's action Friday, sixth-seeded Northern Arizona topped third-seeded Montana, and faces No. 1 Weber State next.
Players Mentioned
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