Photo by: Jack Murrey
Bobcat Men's Tennis Team Heads West to Face Gonzaga, Whitworth and Eastern Washington this Weekend
1/21/2022 2:45:00 PM | Men's Tennis
MSU looks for road success after winning season opener at home against Air Force
BOZEMAN, Montana – Montana State heads west for three men's tennis matches in 26 hours this weekend, facing a regional power, a Division III rivalr and the team's Big Sky opener.
The Bobcats play Gonzaga at the Stevens Center on campus at 11 am MT on Saturday, then head up Division for a 4 pm contest against Whitworth. The weekend ends with a 12 noon showdown at Eastern Washington on Sunday that serves as each team's Big Sky opener.
"Throughout this season, in the time of Covid and with different obstacles that we face, we need to make sure everyone on our roster is sharp and that the guys are competing and growing," Bobcat coach Trey Morris said. "With two matches on Saturday we'll have a chance to make sure the entire team stays sharp."
Gonzaga hosts a pair of non-conference matches – Nevada and Seattle – on Friday before MSU visits on Saturday. The day's highlight may come right off the bat, when a pair of nationally-ranked doubles teams square off. MSU's No. 1 pairing of Daan Van Dijk and Matej Panik is likely to meeting Matthew Hollingworth and Sasha Trkulja in a contest between teams that competed in the ITA National Championships in the fall.
"It's an all-ranked matchup between No. 26 (GU) and No. 33 (MSU), two top-35 nationally-ranked doubles teams," said Bobcat coach Trey Morris. "I'm really looking forward to that matchup."
Morris said Saturday's match against Gonzaga offers a road map for his program. "Gonzaga is in that range between being a strong mid-major and a legitimate Power 5 program," he said. "They're a deep team, solid across the board, and this is a good test for us to see where we are on a national scale."
Later Saturday afternoon the Bobcats face Whitworth at the Scotford Tennis Center on campus. The Pirates finished 6-12 in 2021, but were 4-4 in Northwest Conference action.
On Sunday, MSU visits Eastern Washington in the first league contests of the season for each squad. The Eagles, led by former Bobcat coach Jared Burnham, dropped a pair of non-league matches in Missoula last week, falling 7-0 to the Grizzlies and 6-1 to Air Force.
"It's early to be playing a conference match," Morris said, "and Eastern Washington is a challenge. They beat Air Force in the doubles point and Air Force took the doubles point against us. Eastern is a tough out on the road, and Cheney is a difficult place to play. But I know our guys are excited to begin conference play and start our journey toward the Big Sky Tournament."
Montana State's match at Gonzaga is streamed at https://gozags.com/sports/2019/1/15/live-tennis-video-and-stats.aspx, and the Whitworth match at www.whitworthpirates.com/watch.
#GoCatsGo
The Bobcats play Gonzaga at the Stevens Center on campus at 11 am MT on Saturday, then head up Division for a 4 pm contest against Whitworth. The weekend ends with a 12 noon showdown at Eastern Washington on Sunday that serves as each team's Big Sky opener.
"Throughout this season, in the time of Covid and with different obstacles that we face, we need to make sure everyone on our roster is sharp and that the guys are competing and growing," Bobcat coach Trey Morris said. "With two matches on Saturday we'll have a chance to make sure the entire team stays sharp."
Gonzaga hosts a pair of non-conference matches – Nevada and Seattle – on Friday before MSU visits on Saturday. The day's highlight may come right off the bat, when a pair of nationally-ranked doubles teams square off. MSU's No. 1 pairing of Daan Van Dijk and Matej Panik is likely to meeting Matthew Hollingworth and Sasha Trkulja in a contest between teams that competed in the ITA National Championships in the fall.
"It's an all-ranked matchup between No. 26 (GU) and No. 33 (MSU), two top-35 nationally-ranked doubles teams," said Bobcat coach Trey Morris. "I'm really looking forward to that matchup."
Morris said Saturday's match against Gonzaga offers a road map for his program. "Gonzaga is in that range between being a strong mid-major and a legitimate Power 5 program," he said. "They're a deep team, solid across the board, and this is a good test for us to see where we are on a national scale."
Later Saturday afternoon the Bobcats face Whitworth at the Scotford Tennis Center on campus. The Pirates finished 6-12 in 2021, but were 4-4 in Northwest Conference action.
On Sunday, MSU visits Eastern Washington in the first league contests of the season for each squad. The Eagles, led by former Bobcat coach Jared Burnham, dropped a pair of non-league matches in Missoula last week, falling 7-0 to the Grizzlies and 6-1 to Air Force.
"It's early to be playing a conference match," Morris said, "and Eastern Washington is a challenge. They beat Air Force in the doubles point and Air Force took the doubles point against us. Eastern is a tough out on the road, and Cheney is a difficult place to play. But I know our guys are excited to begin conference play and start our journey toward the Big Sky Tournament."
Montana State's match at Gonzaga is streamed at https://gozags.com/sports/2019/1/15/live-tennis-video-and-stats.aspx, and the Whitworth match at www.whitworthpirates.com/watch.
#GoCatsGo
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