MISSOULA, Mont. -- The University of North Dakota men's tennis team dropped a tough, 4-3 decision to Montana on Saturday afternoon from the Peak Racquet Club from Missoula, Mont. 

UND (2-1) went toe-to-toe against one fo the favorites in the Big Sky Conference, grabbing an early 1-0 lead on the doubles court when the No. 3 pairing of Leo Galliano and Andrew Hayduke II notched a 6-3 victory before Ange-Kevin Koua and Leandro Zgraggen closed out doubles play on the top court with a 6-3 win to secure the early start for the visitors. 

Montana (1-0) started to rally back moving into singles play, grabbing back-to-back wins on the No. 1 and 2 courts to take a 2-1 lead, but Galliano kept his strong rookie season going with a 3-6, 6-0, 6-4 triumph from the third position to quickly even the match up at 2-2. 

The rookies kept showing out for the Hawks, as Hayduke II gave the visitors the lead back at 3-2 with a 7-5, 6-4 win on the No. 4 spot to turn the attention to the bottom pair of courts with UND needing just one win to clinch the match. 

Due to Montana having only four courts, the bottom two didn't get started until the match was nearly three hours old and Montana took advantage at the No. 6 spot with a win to even the score at 3-3. 

Ethan Terry, who rallied for a big win over Idaho to clinch the match last weekend, nearly did it again on the No. 5 court but fell just short in a third set (7-5, 6-7, 6-4) to give the Griz the 4-3 match victory. 

North Dakota will look to split the weekend tomorrow against Montana State at noon from Bozeman. 

For more information on North Dakota men's tennis, follow on social media @UNDmtennis or visit FightingHawks.com.