Jamieson Nathan
Photo by: Jack Murrey
Bobcat Doubles Team Plays Virginia in NCAA Individual Championships Tuesday
5/24/2022 10:16:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Matej Panik and Nathan Jamieson become first MSU tandem to play in NCAA Tourney since 2004
BOZEMAN, Montana – Montana State sophomore Nathan Jamieson and Matej Panik make Bobcat history Tuesday, when MSU's top doubles team competes in the NCAA Men's Tennis Individual Championships in Champaign, Illinois.
Nathan and Panik become only the second MSU men's doubles team to advance to the NCAA Championships when they square off against Virginia's Chris Rodesch and Ryan Goetz at 4:30 pm MT on the University of Illinois' Khan Outdoor Tennis Complex. They join Braden Olson and Marek Gebicki (2004) MSU's only national qualifiers in doubles play.
"One of our goals was to qualify for the NCAA Championships," Panik said of his decision to transfer to MSU a year ago from NCAA Division II Hawaii Pacific. "That makes this so exciting."
The NCAA Tournament caps an amazing season for the Bobcats and for Panik and Nathan, a transfer from NAIA Lander University. Montana State shared the Big Sky regular season championship with Idaho, dropping the league tournament title match to the Vandals.
Panik teamed with Daan Van Dijk in the fall to crack the ITA national rankings in doubles play, advancing to the ITA National Championships. A mid-season lineup shakeup, though, found Panik and Nathan together as a team on MSU's top ladder spot.
"We got to a point in the middle of the season when we just weren't performing in doubles the way I knew we could," said Bobcat head coach Trey Morris, who is making his final appearance as the program's head coach this weekend. "Shaking things up was something we needed to do to help the team, and I knew Matej and Jamo would give us a spark."
Panik and Van Dijk stood 6-3 in doubles play at the time of the team change, with the losses coming against Air Force, Drake and North Dakota. Nathan was 5-3 with Brad Buckland (1-0 with Marcos Zelver) at the time of the transition. Panik and Nathan finished 7-3 as a duo, avenging a regular season loss to Idaho's Francisco Bascon and Bruno Casino in the Big Sky Tournament.
"It's been great," Morris said of the change and its effect on the team. "It's one of the things that put this team over the edge in terms of competing for a conference championship. They compete for each other and feed off of each other's energy."
UVa's Rodesch and Goetz helped lead the Cavaliers to the 2022 NCAA Men's Tennis Team Championship last weekend, although they didn't play as a doubles pairing. In the championship win over Kentucky, Goetz and Inaki Montes clinched the doubles point at No. 2 while Rodesch and Bar Botzer didn't complete their match at No. 1.
As a team, Goetz and Rodesch stand 10-1, but only played two dual matches as a pairing. They finished 8-1 in tournament play, 2-0 in duals. The duo won all four of its matches against nationally-ranked competition. Goetz and Rodesch stand 12th in the latest ITA national rankings, while Panik and Nathan are 69th.
Morris said his team's objective on Tuesday is clear. "We're not going there to celebrate a great season or to have some fun," he said. "We're going to leave it all on the court and give it our best."
Nathan is more succinct. "We're going there to win."
A live stream of today's NCAA Tournament matches is available here.
#GoCatsGo
Nathan and Panik become only the second MSU men's doubles team to advance to the NCAA Championships when they square off against Virginia's Chris Rodesch and Ryan Goetz at 4:30 pm MT on the University of Illinois' Khan Outdoor Tennis Complex. They join Braden Olson and Marek Gebicki (2004) MSU's only national qualifiers in doubles play.
"One of our goals was to qualify for the NCAA Championships," Panik said of his decision to transfer to MSU a year ago from NCAA Division II Hawaii Pacific. "That makes this so exciting."
The NCAA Tournament caps an amazing season for the Bobcats and for Panik and Nathan, a transfer from NAIA Lander University. Montana State shared the Big Sky regular season championship with Idaho, dropping the league tournament title match to the Vandals.
Panik teamed with Daan Van Dijk in the fall to crack the ITA national rankings in doubles play, advancing to the ITA National Championships. A mid-season lineup shakeup, though, found Panik and Nathan together as a team on MSU's top ladder spot.
"We got to a point in the middle of the season when we just weren't performing in doubles the way I knew we could," said Bobcat head coach Trey Morris, who is making his final appearance as the program's head coach this weekend. "Shaking things up was something we needed to do to help the team, and I knew Matej and Jamo would give us a spark."
Panik and Van Dijk stood 6-3 in doubles play at the time of the team change, with the losses coming against Air Force, Drake and North Dakota. Nathan was 5-3 with Brad Buckland (1-0 with Marcos Zelver) at the time of the transition. Panik and Nathan finished 7-3 as a duo, avenging a regular season loss to Idaho's Francisco Bascon and Bruno Casino in the Big Sky Tournament.
"It's been great," Morris said of the change and its effect on the team. "It's one of the things that put this team over the edge in terms of competing for a conference championship. They compete for each other and feed off of each other's energy."
UVa's Rodesch and Goetz helped lead the Cavaliers to the 2022 NCAA Men's Tennis Team Championship last weekend, although they didn't play as a doubles pairing. In the championship win over Kentucky, Goetz and Inaki Montes clinched the doubles point at No. 2 while Rodesch and Bar Botzer didn't complete their match at No. 1.
As a team, Goetz and Rodesch stand 10-1, but only played two dual matches as a pairing. They finished 8-1 in tournament play, 2-0 in duals. The duo won all four of its matches against nationally-ranked competition. Goetz and Rodesch stand 12th in the latest ITA national rankings, while Panik and Nathan are 69th.
Morris said his team's objective on Tuesday is clear. "We're not going there to celebrate a great season or to have some fun," he said. "We're going to leave it all on the court and give it our best."
Nathan is more succinct. "We're going there to win."
A live stream of today's NCAA Tournament matches is available here.
#GoCatsGo
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