The Montana men’s tennis team secured a 6-1 victory over Whitman College on Saturday at the Peak Racquet Club in Missoula. With this win, Montana improved its season record to 2-3, while Whitman, the defending Northwest Conference champions, began their season with a loss.
Montana played without its No. 1 player due to illness and had to adjust its doubles lineup. Despite these changes, the team managed to take an early lead by winning two of three doubles matches. Head coach Jason Brown commented on the team’s performance: “We’ve been hit with some illness and were missing our top player and it felt like it. We effectively had three new doubles pairings, and it showed early on. The energy wasn’t what it needed to be, but the boys competed well and it was a good day overall. We’ll put another win at the Peak in the books and get ready for Monday against UCSD.”
Brown also recognized Whitman’s effort: “Hats off to Whitman, too. They came in and competed hard. These D-I matches are a big deal for them, and they did a great job of making it competitive across the board.”
In singles play, Montana won five out of six matches, all in straight sets. Johnny Wilkinson started strong for Montana with a 6-1, 6-0 win over Guillermo Rodriguez. Baltazar Wiger-Nordas followed with a notable performance against Alexander Stage, securing a 6-3, 6-0 result.
Freshman Matt Upton clinched the overall match for Montana with his victory over Artem Manov (6-2, 6-3). Whitman’s only point came from Niklas Jensen’s win over Duncan McCall (6-4, 7-5). Joseph Townes added another point for Montana by defeating Charles Boyden (6-1, 6-1), while Moritz Lesjak finished the day with a win against Hanri Lou (6-3, 6-1).
Montana will next face UC San Diego in Missoula on Monday morning at the Peak Racquet Club. Admission is free and open to spectators.
