Women's tennis preps for in-state rival
3/10/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
The University of Montana women???s tennis team will play a single conference match Saturday vs. 4-6 (0-1 BSC) Montana State in Bozeman. The 4-7, (3-1 BSC) Grizzlies will embrace the state rivalry as they attempt to even the score of the 0-7 loss that took place in the 2009 meeting between the two schools.
Following indoor sessions with his team Tuesday, second year UM coach Steve Ascher said, ???Our girls definitely recognize the intensity of the Cat/Griz rivalry, and we will be mindful of that as we prepare for this match. Having been here in Missoula for a year and a half, I too respect the intensity of this matchup across all sports.???
Ascher continued, ???Last year I came on scene without knowing how much this conference match can carry. We had a pretty intense and sometimes chaotic atmosphere at that match. This year I know what to expect.?? We can always see nerves and excitement to playing a role in competition, but this Montana women???s team has handled themselves recently like the true Division I athletes that they are. I expect to see that same degree of relative professionalism Saturday.
???The girls have developed a great focus that attends to those things that they can change, and merely handles those things over which we have no control.???
The 2009 Bobcat squad played to a close second in Big Sky competition, logging a record of 7-1, which included a 7-0 win over the Grizzlies.
That same Bobcat team was led in 2009, by Missy Harris, who went 15-2 overall at No. 2 for the ???Cats. Montana State also relied much on Stephanie Jasper, who played to an overall 13-7 result at No. 1. Both of these players are now absent from?? the MSU roster, creating a much different prognosis for the Bozeman team, which was picked in a tie for third with Montana in the Big Sky preseason poll.
Big Sky Player of the Week Charlotta Hjalmarrson currently carries the best Bobcat record for 2010, going 2-3 at No. 3. Hjalmarrson had the best result in the February 19, 6-1 MSU loss to Northern Arizona, topping Aimee Oki at No 3, 7-6(9), 6-2.
Montana has seen the best records of late from freshmen Heather Davidson and Constance Alexander who have gone 5-5 between Nos. 2-4 for Davidson and 1-3 for Alexander. Davidson has also gone 8-3 in doubles with either Rebecca Bran or Kayla Moyse. Like Hjalmarrson, Davidson also took the sole Grizzly win of the March 5, 1-6 Grizzly loss to the Lumberjacks by topping Oki at No. 3 with a 6-4, 7-6 (4) result.
Ascher said, ???We have seen some solid play from our freshmen Heather and Constance as they play in different spots. All of the players have done really well for one another this spring. It???s a tight-knit group and I see them growing together mentally as the year progresses.
???I am also happy to see that our team is looking a bit healthier as a group than we have seen for a little while. This means that we can hopefully achieve a higher percentage of the potential that we hold as a group. Having elements like this in place will be vital as we enter high-energy conference events like this weekend.???????????????????????????????
