BOZEMAN — Montana State freshman Kanika Jayathilake knew how it looked during the third set of his decisive match against Montana’s Chris Zhang during Sunday’s Brawl of the Wild men’s tennis match.
“I probably looked dead on the court because I wasn’t saying anything in the third set,” Jayathilake said, “but it was to help me breathe and regulate my (body), and it worked. Finding the method that works for me, which is maybe not being as loud as I am off the court, is probably better for me in matches.”
Jayathilake’s method proved wildly effective. He survived a third set service break to fall behind 5-3, dealt Zhang two breaks of his own, then served out match point at 40-30 to clinch his own victory at No. 6 singles and hand the Bobcats a 4-3 win over their arch rivals in front of 150 spectators at the Bobcat-Anderson Tennis Center.
People are also reading…
“The freshmen at four, five and six were huge,” said Montana State head coach Rob Bareford. “Their first Brawl of the Wild, at home, tons of fans, and they stepped up when their team needed them.”
That the Bobcats would need Jayathilake’s efforts at No. 6 singles seemed improbable for much of the afternoon. The Grizzlies captured the doubles point to take a 1-0 lead, the after Tom Bittner’s straight-sets win over MSU’s Max Relic led 2-0. Bobcat freshman Rayen Hermassi took a 6-2, 7-6 (7-3) win at No. 4, Tom Bittner’s win 6-2, 7-6 (7-5) over Bobcat Max Relic at No. 1 singles pushed the Grizzlies one win from victory.
On court three, Bobcat grad transfer Max Relic split the first two sets with UM’s Fernando Perez, but powered to a 6-3 set three win to close the team score to 3-2.
“Andras coming through on Senior Day, his last home match here, that was huge,” Bareford said. “You couldn’t write a better story.”
Except that MSU’s freshmen at No. 5 and No. 6 singles, Andre Stewart and Jayathilake, set about doing just that. Stewart dropped the first set 6-0, owing largely to serving struggles.
“The first set I served horribly,” Stewart said with a smile, “that’s why I got bageled six-love. Honestly, I don’t think I made a first serve in the first set.”
Stewart bounced back with a 6-3 win in set two as his serving form returned, then took a 6-4 victory in set three.
“The second and third sets I served well enough,” he said. “I got my first serve in. That’s really important against a player like (Moeritz Stoeger).”
Once Stewart returned to form, Bareford said his attention shifted.
“Honestly, I didn’t have any worries about Andre,” he said. “I knew he was going to come back, I knew he wasn’t playing anywhere close to his level, and I knew he was going to be fine. Once he won the second set I kind of left him alone because I knew he was going to win the third and I wanted to be on Kani’s court.”
Jayathilake won the first set at No. 6 singles against Zhang 7-6, scoring the final three points in the tiebreaker to capture it 8-6. Set two also went to the seven-point tiebreaker, and after Jayathilake dashed out to a 6-2 lead Zhang scored four straight to tie the score. The two traded points until Jayathilake took a 10-9 lead. At that point Zhang won three straight points to take the second set, 7-6 (12-10).
Jayathilake said he didn’t feel discouraged, instead reaching deep inside.
“I just felt like I’ve put in so much work and am not playing how I wish I could play after four months (at MSU),” he said. “After I lost that second set those thoughts came back, but I think the difference in this match versus other ones is that I stopped caring, I kept trying but I thought I was caring too much about everyone else. I just had to let go and do whatever works, just send it.”
Jayathilake, an Australian, and Zhang, originally from New Zealand, stayed on serve through the first seven games of the third set, but leading 4-3 Zhang broke Jayathilake’s serve to take a 5-3 lead. At the point of elimination, Jayathilake fought back with a service break of his own, then held serve to knot things at 5-5. Jayathilake jumped out to a 40-0 lead then broke serve at 40-15 to take a 6-5 lead. Zhang led 15-0 and 30-15 in the decisive game, but Jayathilake served out the next three points to clinch the match.
“It was a great moment,” Bareford said of Jayathilake’s win and the Bobcat team rushing him to celebrate. “I was definitely trying to be on his court because (Zhang is) his buddy from back home in Australia and they played right before (Jayathilake) came to college and Kani lost, so I knew that was going to be a tough one.”
Jayathilake said the victory over his long-time friend was especially meaningful.
“He is the guy that helped me come to college,” Jayathilake said. “I trained with him in Australia, so he was the last person that I was hitting with before I came here.”
And then Jayathilake smiled.
“He wanted me to go to his school,” he said. “But thank God I didn’t. This is great.”
Montana State’s five-hour, 20-minute win raised the team’s record to 9-11 overall and 4-4 in Big Sky play, while the Grizzlies fell to 14-9 overall, 4-4 in the league. The Cats enter next week’s Big Sky Tournament as the fifth seed, playing fourth-seeded Weber State on Thursday, while the Grizzlies grab the sixth seed and face Idaho State.
