Montana State University’s men’s tennis team lost a close match to league-leading Northern Arizona University on April 3, with the final score at 4-3. The contest, held at the Bobcat-Anderson Tennis Center in Bozeman, lasted over four hours and saw the Bobcats challenge the three-time defending conference champions until the final singles match.
The result extends Northern Arizona’s Big Sky Conference winning streak to 18 matches. Despite the loss, Montana State head coach Mateus Ceolin said he was encouraged by his team’s performance. “Really, really good,” Ceolin said after the match. “I saw a lot of fight from our guys, a good battle from our guys. I love to see that.” He added, “I think this 100 percent shows that we’re making progress. We’re getting better. I’m so proud of the fight this team showed.”
Northern Arizona took an early lead by securing victories in doubles play and then won straight sets at No. 3 singles and three sets at No. 2 singles. However, Montana State sophomore Yassin Elaroussy won his top singles matchup against NAU’s Noa Tcherniack with scores of 6-4, 3-6, and 6-1.
Freshman Ethan Masselis followed with a win at No. 4 singles (7-6 [4], 4-6, 6-4), while Eddie Biss claimed victory at No. 5 (6-3, 6-4). These results tied up the overall score before freshman Max Calaquian fell in straight sets during the deciding match.
With this loss, Montana State’s record stands at five wins and eleven losses overall and one win against three losses in Big Sky play for the season; Northern Arizona improves to thirteen wins and five losses overall with an undefeated record in conference matches so far.
Montana State is scheduled to host Weber State on Sunday morning for its next competition.
