Saturday, April 30
Phoenix, AZ
9:00 A.M.
Montana State University
3
vs
4
Idaho
Nejc Sitar and Daan Van Dijk
Photo by: Big Sky Conference
Idaho Topples Bobcats for Big Sky Conference Men's Tennis Championship
4/30/2022 1:06:00 PM | Men's Tennis
Vandals claim late singles wins to burst past MSU
Idaho claimed late wins at the first and third ladder spots to beat Montana State 4-3 and capture the 2022 Big Sky Conference Men's Tennis Championship in Phoenix on Saturday.
"We fell short today, but we gave ourselves a chance to win a championship," said Bobcat head coach Trey Morris. "We had opportunities in a lot of the matches that we could have taken. Unfortunately we didn't, and that's sports. It wasn't our day."
The match between the league's regular season co-champions featured a tie-breaker that decided the doubles point in MSU's favor and a pair of three-set singles matches. Matej Panik won for the Bobcats at No. 2 singles, and Joaquin Espinoza won at No. 6 in his final match as a Bobcat.
After Montana State's Jamieson Nathan and Matej Panik won 6-3 at No. 1 singles and the Vandals captured the third ladder spot, Nejc Sitar and Daan Van Dijk locked into a long battle to decide the doubles point. The Bobcats' No. 2 team earned a 7-4 tie-breaker win to give that Cats a 1-0 team lead.
Idaho's Matteo Masala stormed past Bradley Buckland 6-2, 6-4 at No. 4 singles, then in rapid succession Panik topped Francisco Gy 7-5, 6-2 at No. 2 singlers and UI's Mario Duron upended Nejc Sitar 7-5, 6-1 to knot the match at 2-2. Espinoza's 4-6, 6-0, 6-2 win at No. 6 pushed the Bobcats within one point of a championship.
The Vandals, though, responded. Francisco Bascon survived a comeback attempt by Fan Dijk in a 7-6 (7-3) 7-5 win. Van Dijk trailed 5-2 in the third set before tying things at 5-5. Bascon held serve, then broke Van Dijk to tie the team competition 3-3.
Nathan won the first set at No. 3 6-1, but Idaho's Bruno Casino stormed back for a 6-2 second set win. After the players traded service breaks to open the third set Cason broke to take a 4-2 lead then held serve. After Nathan held to go to 3-5 Casino served out the win and the championship.
"I'm really proud of this group and everything these players have accomplished," Morris said. "The seniors left everything out there on the court today. They had a huge role in building this program to the standard that we're now at and they will be a part of our future success. This program owes a lot to them. This is disappointing, but this season is one to celebrate. We'll be back here, and we'll continue moving forward and striving to reach our goal of winning this tournament."
Idaho won its second Big Sky title in the last three full seasons. The Vandals won the league regular season and tournament titles in 2018, although this year's UI squad grabbed a share of the regular season crown after a loss to Sacramento State was overturned by the conference for lineup manipulation by the Hornets. Since returning to the Big Sky in 2015 Idaho has finished in the top two seven times.
The Bobcats, on the other hand, returned to league prominence for the first time in nearly a decade. The Cats clinched a share of the league crown for the first time since 2013 by beating Montana at home last week, and the team last played for a tournament title in 2006. Montana State finishes its hallmark season with an 18-8 record.
2022 Big Sky Conference Men's Tennis Championship
Idaho 4, Montana State 3
4/30/2022 at Phoenix, AZ (Phoenix Tennis Center)
SINGLES
1. BASCON, Francisco (UI) def. Daan Van Dijk (MSU) 7-6, 7-5
2. PANIK, Matej (MSU) def. GAY, Francisco (UI) 7-5, 6-2
3. CASINO, Bruno (UI) def. NATHAN, Jamieson (MSU) 1-6, 6-2, 6-3
4. MASALA, Matteo (UI) def. BUCKLAND, Brad (MSU) 6-2, 6-4
5. Mario Duron Garza (UI) def. SITAR, Nejc (MSU) 7-5, 6-1
6. ESPINOZA, Joaquin (MSU) def. ASENOV, Alex (UI) 4-6, 6-0, 6-2
DOUBLES
1. PANIK, Matej/NATHAN, Jamieson (MSU) def. BASCON, Francisco/CASINO, Bruno (UI) 6-3
2. Daan Van Dijk/SITAR, Nejc (MSU) def. GAY, Francisco/Mario Duron Garza (UI) 7-6 (7-4)
3. MASALA, Matteo/ASENOV, Alex (UI) def. ZELVER, Marcos/BUCKLAND, Brad (MSU) 7-5
Records: Montana State 18-8, Idaho 13-10
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (4,2,5,6,1,3)
#GoCatsGo
"We fell short today, but we gave ourselves a chance to win a championship," said Bobcat head coach Trey Morris. "We had opportunities in a lot of the matches that we could have taken. Unfortunately we didn't, and that's sports. It wasn't our day."
The match between the league's regular season co-champions featured a tie-breaker that decided the doubles point in MSU's favor and a pair of three-set singles matches. Matej Panik won for the Bobcats at No. 2 singles, and Joaquin Espinoza won at No. 6 in his final match as a Bobcat.
After Montana State's Jamieson Nathan and Matej Panik won 6-3 at No. 1 singles and the Vandals captured the third ladder spot, Nejc Sitar and Daan Van Dijk locked into a long battle to decide the doubles point. The Bobcats' No. 2 team earned a 7-4 tie-breaker win to give that Cats a 1-0 team lead.
Idaho's Matteo Masala stormed past Bradley Buckland 6-2, 6-4 at No. 4 singles, then in rapid succession Panik topped Francisco Gy 7-5, 6-2 at No. 2 singlers and UI's Mario Duron upended Nejc Sitar 7-5, 6-1 to knot the match at 2-2. Espinoza's 4-6, 6-0, 6-2 win at No. 6 pushed the Bobcats within one point of a championship.
The Vandals, though, responded. Francisco Bascon survived a comeback attempt by Fan Dijk in a 7-6 (7-3) 7-5 win. Van Dijk trailed 5-2 in the third set before tying things at 5-5. Bascon held serve, then broke Van Dijk to tie the team competition 3-3.
Nathan won the first set at No. 3 6-1, but Idaho's Bruno Casino stormed back for a 6-2 second set win. After the players traded service breaks to open the third set Cason broke to take a 4-2 lead then held serve. After Nathan held to go to 3-5 Casino served out the win and the championship.
"I'm really proud of this group and everything these players have accomplished," Morris said. "The seniors left everything out there on the court today. They had a huge role in building this program to the standard that we're now at and they will be a part of our future success. This program owes a lot to them. This is disappointing, but this season is one to celebrate. We'll be back here, and we'll continue moving forward and striving to reach our goal of winning this tournament."
Idaho won its second Big Sky title in the last three full seasons. The Vandals won the league regular season and tournament titles in 2018, although this year's UI squad grabbed a share of the regular season crown after a loss to Sacramento State was overturned by the conference for lineup manipulation by the Hornets. Since returning to the Big Sky in 2015 Idaho has finished in the top two seven times.
The Bobcats, on the other hand, returned to league prominence for the first time in nearly a decade. The Cats clinched a share of the league crown for the first time since 2013 by beating Montana at home last week, and the team last played for a tournament title in 2006. Montana State finishes its hallmark season with an 18-8 record.
2022 Big Sky Conference Men's Tennis Championship
Idaho 4, Montana State 3
4/30/2022 at Phoenix, AZ (Phoenix Tennis Center)
SINGLES
1. BASCON, Francisco (UI) def. Daan Van Dijk (MSU) 7-6, 7-5
2. PANIK, Matej (MSU) def. GAY, Francisco (UI) 7-5, 6-2
3. CASINO, Bruno (UI) def. NATHAN, Jamieson (MSU) 1-6, 6-2, 6-3
4. MASALA, Matteo (UI) def. BUCKLAND, Brad (MSU) 6-2, 6-4
5. Mario Duron Garza (UI) def. SITAR, Nejc (MSU) 7-5, 6-1
6. ESPINOZA, Joaquin (MSU) def. ASENOV, Alex (UI) 4-6, 6-0, 6-2
DOUBLES
1. PANIK, Matej/NATHAN, Jamieson (MSU) def. BASCON, Francisco/CASINO, Bruno (UI) 6-3
2. Daan Van Dijk/SITAR, Nejc (MSU) def. GAY, Francisco/Mario Duron Garza (UI) 7-6 (7-4)
3. MASALA, Matteo/ASENOV, Alex (UI) def. ZELVER, Marcos/BUCKLAND, Brad (MSU) 7-5
Records: Montana State 18-8, Idaho 13-10
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (4,2,5,6,1,3)
#GoCatsGo
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
1,3,2
#1 Singles Match
12
65
Francisco Bascon / 0 [IDAHO]
77
#2 Singles Match
12
76
Francisco Gay / 0 [IDAHO]
52
#3 Singles Match
123
623
Bruno Casino / 0 [IDAHO]
166
#4 Singles Match
12
24
Matteo Masala / 0 [IDAHO]
66
#5 Singles Match
12
51
Mario Duron Garza / 0 [IDAHO]
76
#6 Singles Match
123
466
Alex Asenov / 0 [IDAHO]
602
Order of Finish:
4,2,5,6,1,3
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
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