Griz tennis loses on rough road trip
4/6/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Spring Break 2004 was not kind to the University of Montana tennis teams.
Both the men's and women's tennis teams went 1-4 in dual matches over the vacation period, and also dropped all three of their dual matches over the weekend during a Colorado trip.
The Lady Griz started off their spring break activities on an up-note when they trashed rival Montana State 5-2 on March 26. Against the Bobcats, UM received individual victories from its top three participants as Annabelle Janairo, Michaela Zima and Lindsey Torgerson all won their matches. Janairo and Zima won their games outright in three sets, while Torgerson ousted MSU's Katy Clark in a three-set tie-breaker. The Lady Griz scored two doubles wins and Montana sophomore Jonna Schwartz also registered a straight set victory over Remy Clark.
"It was great," Zima said. "Everyone played well and I think against Bozeman we are more intense. We are pumped up every time we play, but it is more special when we play against them."
Coming off the victory, Montana would begin to fall into a slump as it could not produce the same results two days later against Lewis and Clark State College. The Warriors left Missoula Sunday afternoon with a 5-2 victory over the Lady Griz.
Zima, a senior from Richmond, British Colombia, dominated the Warriors' Eleanor Specht with a 6-1, 6-0 victory, but Zima's freshman teammate Malena Rosen was the only other Lady Griz to register an individual victory, also in straight sets. The duo of junior Bonny Bower and Schwartz won a doubles match in the No. 3 spot.
A week later the Lady Griz would began its Colorado road adventure - and did not start on the right foot.
On April 2, UM dropped a 6-1 decision to the Lady Falcons of Air Force. Air Force won every individual match in straight sets and Montana's lone victory, a Schwartz conquest over Katie Tomkie, came via a third-set tie-breaker.
Trying to rebound from the Friday defeat, the Lady Griz squared off against Northern Arizona University in Denver the following morning. Unfortunately, Montana failed to yield much more success as it dropped another 6-1 dual. Rosen was the only Lady Griz to register a victory as she bested the Lumberjacks' Katie Tomkie 6-2, 6-3 in the No. 6 singles position.
Montana finished the road trip with a disappointing loss to Denver University. Denver, which is ranked 44th nationally, swept UM 7-0 and seemed flawless at many times throughout the dual. Janairo and Torgerson both lost 6-0, 6-1 decisions and two of UM's doubles teams lost 8-0. Schwartz came the closest to victory but was beat by the Pioneers' Stephanie Ginsburg in a third-set tie-breaker.
"We played well but it was hard playing in that altitude," Zima said.
The Lady Griz dropped to 1-9 on the season and will square off against Weber State and Idaho State this upcoming weekend.
"We're getting better with every match," Zima said. "Even though we lost as a whole we are getting much better (and) you can see the improvement. I think we are almost there."
The men's tennis teams didn't fare much better than their female counterparts.
Unlike the Lady Griz, the men's teams lost 4-2 to Montana State March 27. Montana managed to get victories out of sophomore Varun Giri and junior Gus Treyz. Doubles play for the dual was canceled because of the cold Missoula weather and because of MSU's overall lead - extra games were irrelevant to the overall outcome.
"When we lost to MSU, it wasn't a bad loss because we were in it all the way," Treyz said. "We weren't bummed."
UM would rebound, however, as it smoked Lewis and Clark State College 6-1 on the following Sunday afternoon. The only blemish on UM's victory was Giri's two-set loss to Borja Molas of LCSC.
Montana started its Colorado road trip on a down note, being blown out by Denver University 7-0.
Although both contests resulted in losses, UM fared better in its final two road contests, losing 4-3 to both NAU and Air Force. Montana failed to be consistent in those two duals, however, as UM freshman Sean Stewart was the only Griz to register victories in both duals.
Montana's record drops to 5-8 on the season as it prepares for the road.
"We just had a fun weekend," Treyz said. "It's tough losing 4-3, but we aren't at full strength."
UM played most of Spring Break without the services of No. 2 tennis player Stan Nevolovich, who only saw action in the Montana State match-up because of an injury.
"We would have liked to win but we still have confidence going into next weekend," he said.
Both the men's and women's tennis teams went 1-4 in dual matches over the vacation period, and also dropped all three of their dual matches over the weekend during a Colorado trip.
The Lady Griz started off their spring break activities on an up-note when they trashed rival Montana State 5-2 on March 26. Against the Bobcats, UM received individual victories from its top three participants as Annabelle Janairo, Michaela Zima and Lindsey Torgerson all won their matches. Janairo and Zima won their games outright in three sets, while Torgerson ousted MSU's Katy Clark in a three-set tie-breaker. The Lady Griz scored two doubles wins and Montana sophomore Jonna Schwartz also registered a straight set victory over Remy Clark.
"It was great," Zima said. "Everyone played well and I think against Bozeman we are more intense. We are pumped up every time we play, but it is more special when we play against them."
Coming off the victory, Montana would begin to fall into a slump as it could not produce the same results two days later against Lewis and Clark State College. The Warriors left Missoula Sunday afternoon with a 5-2 victory over the Lady Griz.
Zima, a senior from Richmond, British Colombia, dominated the Warriors' Eleanor Specht with a 6-1, 6-0 victory, but Zima's freshman teammate Malena Rosen was the only other Lady Griz to register an individual victory, also in straight sets. The duo of junior Bonny Bower and Schwartz won a doubles match in the No. 3 spot.
A week later the Lady Griz would began its Colorado road adventure - and did not start on the right foot.
On April 2, UM dropped a 6-1 decision to the Lady Falcons of Air Force. Air Force won every individual match in straight sets and Montana's lone victory, a Schwartz conquest over Katie Tomkie, came via a third-set tie-breaker.
Trying to rebound from the Friday defeat, the Lady Griz squared off against Northern Arizona University in Denver the following morning. Unfortunately, Montana failed to yield much more success as it dropped another 6-1 dual. Rosen was the only Lady Griz to register a victory as she bested the Lumberjacks' Katie Tomkie 6-2, 6-3 in the No. 6 singles position.
Montana finished the road trip with a disappointing loss to Denver University. Denver, which is ranked 44th nationally, swept UM 7-0 and seemed flawless at many times throughout the dual. Janairo and Torgerson both lost 6-0, 6-1 decisions and two of UM's doubles teams lost 8-0. Schwartz came the closest to victory but was beat by the Pioneers' Stephanie Ginsburg in a third-set tie-breaker.
"We played well but it was hard playing in that altitude," Zima said.
The Lady Griz dropped to 1-9 on the season and will square off against Weber State and Idaho State this upcoming weekend.
"We're getting better with every match," Zima said. "Even though we lost as a whole we are getting much better (and) you can see the improvement. I think we are almost there."
The men's tennis teams didn't fare much better than their female counterparts.
Unlike the Lady Griz, the men's teams lost 4-2 to Montana State March 27. Montana managed to get victories out of sophomore Varun Giri and junior Gus Treyz. Doubles play for the dual was canceled because of the cold Missoula weather and because of MSU's overall lead - extra games were irrelevant to the overall outcome.
"When we lost to MSU, it wasn't a bad loss because we were in it all the way," Treyz said. "We weren't bummed."
UM would rebound, however, as it smoked Lewis and Clark State College 6-1 on the following Sunday afternoon. The only blemish on UM's victory was Giri's two-set loss to Borja Molas of LCSC.
Montana started its Colorado road trip on a down note, being blown out by Denver University 7-0.
Although both contests resulted in losses, UM fared better in its final two road contests, losing 4-3 to both NAU and Air Force. Montana failed to be consistent in those two duals, however, as UM freshman Sean Stewart was the only Griz to register victories in both duals.
Montana's record drops to 5-8 on the season as it prepares for the road.
"We just had a fun weekend," Treyz said. "It's tough losing 4-3, but we aren't at full strength."
UM played most of Spring Break without the services of No. 2 tennis player Stan Nevolovich, who only saw action in the Montana State match-up because of an injury.
"We would have liked to win but we still have confidence going into next weekend," he said.
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