Saturday, February 6
6 pm
Montana State University
4
vs
3
Idaho State
Montana State Edges Idaho State to Open 2021 Men's Tennis Season
2/6/2021 10:44:00 PM | Men's Tennis
Brad Buckland won the deciding match in three sets to clinch the victory
BOZEMAN, Montana – Facing Idaho State's Gary Rendek, tied at 3-3 in the crucial third set of evening's deciding match, Bobcat freshman Brad Buckland knew he was at a turning point.
"I played pretty much a perfect game," he said, "I broke to love and I needed that. I was getting tired, and I wouldn't have liked to be serving 5-4 down, so to get that break was really big."
That break pushed him ahead 4-3 and he won on serve two games later to capture his No. 5 singles contest 7-5, 1-6, 6-4. That victory boosted MSU to a season-opening 4-3 win over Idaho State at the Bobcat-Anderson Tennis Center on Saturday night.
"it was a big grind," Buckland said of his match, a statement which could have applied to the entire match. "It's been a while since all of us have played matches."
It was a team effort from start to finish. The Bobcats took the doubles point from Idaho State when the No. 1 pairing of Nejc Sitar and Daan Van Dijk won 7-6 (7-4 in the tie-breaker) to close the proceedings. Van Dijk impressed in his Bobcat debut after arriving in Bozeman less than a month ago from The Netherlands. He not only helped the team capture the doubles point (Joaquin Espinoza and Buckland won 6-2 at No. 2 doubles), but he coasted to a 6-2, 6-2 win at No. 3 singles.
Like Buckland, Espinoza also grinded out a three-set win in singles play. His victory over Aleksander Petrovic combined with Van Dijk's win to push the Cats to one point from victory. But it was anything but easy.
Robert Steinhauser beat MSU's Chase Stoner at No. 6 singles, then Hiroki Fujita edged Bobcat Marcos Zelver to tie the match at 3-3 and set up Buckland's heroics. In large part, Buckland was able to get the win on the strength of his serve. "I got some big points, I came up with some first serves, especially on that last deuce there (in set three)," he said. "The first serve was crucial."
In Montana State's first match since last March, Buckland said everyone on the team shared in the victory. "It was great to be back out on the match court and we had great energy," he said. "It took the team at the end there to get me through that one."
Montana State is now 1-0 on the season, while Idaho State is 0-4. The same teams play tomorrow in the Bobcat-Anderson Tennis Center.
Montana State 4, Idaho State 3
Feb 6, 2021 at Bozeman, Montana (Bobcat-Anderson Tennis Center)
Singles competition
1. Patrik Trhac (ISU) def. SITAR, Nejc (MSU) 6-3, 6-4
2. ESPINOZA, Joaquin (MSU) def. Aleksander Petrovic (ISU) 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (7-4)
3. VAN DIJK, Daan (MSU) def. Jaime Castillo-Lopez (ISU) 6-3, 6-1
4. Hiroki Fujita (ISU) def. ZELVER, Marcos (MSU) 7-5, 6-7 (4-7), 6-3
5. BUCKLAND, Brad (MSU) def. Gary Rendek (ISU) 7-5, 1-6, 6-4
6. Robert Steinhauser (ISU) def. STONER, Chase (MSU) 6-2, 6-3
Doubles competition
1. SITAR, Nejc/VAN DIJK, Daan (MSU) def. Patrik Trhac/Aleksander Petrovic (ISU) 7-6 (7-4)
2. ESPINOZA, Joaquin/BUCKLAND, Brad (MSU) def. Robert Steinhauser/Hiroki Fujita (ISU) 6-2
3. Jaime Castillo-Lopez/Gary Rendek (ISU) def. ZELVER, Marcos/MONTEIRO, Manuel (MSU) 6-4
Idaho State: 0-4, Montana State 1-0
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (3,1,2,6,4,5)
Official: Brad Anderson Time-3:55
#GoCatsGo
"I played pretty much a perfect game," he said, "I broke to love and I needed that. I was getting tired, and I wouldn't have liked to be serving 5-4 down, so to get that break was really big."
That break pushed him ahead 4-3 and he won on serve two games later to capture his No. 5 singles contest 7-5, 1-6, 6-4. That victory boosted MSU to a season-opening 4-3 win over Idaho State at the Bobcat-Anderson Tennis Center on Saturday night.
"it was a big grind," Buckland said of his match, a statement which could have applied to the entire match. "It's been a while since all of us have played matches."
It was a team effort from start to finish. The Bobcats took the doubles point from Idaho State when the No. 1 pairing of Nejc Sitar and Daan Van Dijk won 7-6 (7-4 in the tie-breaker) to close the proceedings. Van Dijk impressed in his Bobcat debut after arriving in Bozeman less than a month ago from The Netherlands. He not only helped the team capture the doubles point (Joaquin Espinoza and Buckland won 6-2 at No. 2 doubles), but he coasted to a 6-2, 6-2 win at No. 3 singles.
Like Buckland, Espinoza also grinded out a three-set win in singles play. His victory over Aleksander Petrovic combined with Van Dijk's win to push the Cats to one point from victory. But it was anything but easy.
Robert Steinhauser beat MSU's Chase Stoner at No. 6 singles, then Hiroki Fujita edged Bobcat Marcos Zelver to tie the match at 3-3 and set up Buckland's heroics. In large part, Buckland was able to get the win on the strength of his serve. "I got some big points, I came up with some first serves, especially on that last deuce there (in set three)," he said. "The first serve was crucial."
In Montana State's first match since last March, Buckland said everyone on the team shared in the victory. "It was great to be back out on the match court and we had great energy," he said. "It took the team at the end there to get me through that one."
Montana State is now 1-0 on the season, while Idaho State is 0-4. The same teams play tomorrow in the Bobcat-Anderson Tennis Center.
Montana State 4, Idaho State 3
Feb 6, 2021 at Bozeman, Montana (Bobcat-Anderson Tennis Center)
Singles competition
1. Patrik Trhac (ISU) def. SITAR, Nejc (MSU) 6-3, 6-4
2. ESPINOZA, Joaquin (MSU) def. Aleksander Petrovic (ISU) 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (7-4)
3. VAN DIJK, Daan (MSU) def. Jaime Castillo-Lopez (ISU) 6-3, 6-1
4. Hiroki Fujita (ISU) def. ZELVER, Marcos (MSU) 7-5, 6-7 (4-7), 6-3
5. BUCKLAND, Brad (MSU) def. Gary Rendek (ISU) 7-5, 1-6, 6-4
6. Robert Steinhauser (ISU) def. STONER, Chase (MSU) 6-2, 6-3
Doubles competition
1. SITAR, Nejc/VAN DIJK, Daan (MSU) def. Patrik Trhac/Aleksander Petrovic (ISU) 7-6 (7-4)
2. ESPINOZA, Joaquin/BUCKLAND, Brad (MSU) def. Robert Steinhauser/Hiroki Fujita (ISU) 6-2
3. Jaime Castillo-Lopez/Gary Rendek (ISU) def. ZELVER, Marcos/MONTEIRO, Manuel (MSU) 6-4
Idaho State: 0-4, Montana State 1-0
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (3,1,2,6,4,5)
Official: Brad Anderson Time-3:55
#GoCatsGo
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
2,3,1
#1 Singles Match
12
Patrik Trhac / 0 [ISU]
66
34
#2 Singles Match
123
Aleksander Petrovic / 0 [ISU]
366
647
#3 Singles Match
12
Jaime Castillo-Lopez / 0 [ISU]
31
66
#4 Singles Match
123
Hiroki Fujita / 0 [ISU]
766
573
#5 Singles Match
123
Gary Rendek / 0 [ISU]
564
716
#6 Singles Match
12
Robert Steinhauser / 0 [ISU]
66
23
Order of Finish:
3,1,2,6,4,5
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
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