Women's tennis opens season Friday in Pullman
9/22/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
The University of Montana women???s tennis team will open fall play Friday at the Washington State Cougar Classic in Pullman, Wash.?? With three new recruits and strong summer performances from its veterans, the Grizzly team will be looking to throw down vs. PAC 10 power Washington State as well as Big Sky opponents from Eastern Washington, among other regional programs.
Before practice Monday, third-year UM women???s tennis coach Steve Ascher said, ???As a coach, I view the fall tournament schedule as an opportunity to see my athletes play in real competitive situations. We will then extract information from those matches to identify areas where the athletes will need work in order to better prepare for the spring. These matches will also help our athletes to be accustomed to faster Division One competition. In that respect, I regard these events as more ???pro??? than they are collegiate.
???That being said, these tournaments are a great opportunity for all of our athletes to achieve great things in the Montana uniform.???
The Cougar Classic will feature a dual-draw format with single-elimination being the qualifier to remain in the draw. Following a single loss, players will be routed through a consolation feed until a second loss.
In 2009, the Grizzlies found great success in Pullman, with three athletes playing to the quarterfinal level in the more competitive, crimson draw. Rebecca Bran, Amanda Bran and then-freshman Heather Davidson all won matches in the rounds of 32 and 16 before facing tough competition from host school WSU in their quarterfinal matches.
Montana???s top doubles effort in the 2009 Cougar classic came in a semifinal appearance by Rebecca Bran and Davidson. The two played through tough teams from Idaho and WSU before falling 8-2 to a University of Portland team in the semis.
In the 2010 event, the Grizzlies playing up through the main event will again find themselves against top-level WSU Athletes. Cougars Liudmila Vasilova and Elizabeth Fournier hold National ITA preseason rankings of Nos. 40 and 43 respectively. In 2009, Rebecca Bran suffered her 7-5,6-2 quarterfinal loss to Fournier, while her twin, Amanda, dropped her QF match to Vasilova 6-2,6-3. If any Grizzlies are looking to establish themselves at the top of the region, an upset of one of these two athletes will be a healthy statement.
Ascher maintains that all of the pieces are in place for his third-place Big Sky team to step up, saying, ???One big thing for us right now is that we are recruiting against the upper-tier in collegiate tennis. We compete for athletes with the top teams in the region. Those athletes are growing to understand all of the potential that the Montana program has to offer.???
If you build it: Ascher???s Grizzly roster took a boost last year with true freshmen Constance Alexander who went 13-9 at No. 2 for the Grizzlies, and with Heather Davidson, who went 13-10 in spring play. Both athletes went 6-2 in Big Sky play, earning First-team All-Big Sky honors. The 2010 recruiting class shows equal promise, with Texas junior power Madeline Murray and So-Cal swinger Ashley Mackey.
Ascher said, ???Both Maddie and Ashley had opportunities to play in ITA summer events. These events gave them a chance to play against various collegiate players who are ranked within their respective regions and nationally as well. Having that experience gives them both a leg-up on most collegiate freshmen.???
Mackey, of the Los Angeles area, played as a junior in what is regarded as the most competitive region for tennis recruits. Ascher said, ???In southern California, you see a lot of those players going to schools like San Diego State, Arizona, and Arizona State. Ashley has performed well against athletes that will be playing at some of the top tennis schools in the country.???
Whitney Paluch, who is playing out her final season of eligibility with UM, played for California State-Northridge during her undergrad career. The senior will now offer Montana that experience that she earned going 8-10 playing between Nos. 2 and 4 for her alma mater in the spring of 2010. Ascher said, ???Whitney is coming in with a lot of experience, having played a difficult schedule last season with Northridge. ??Granted, we expect that all of our athletes will take on leadership roles past their freshman year. With Whitney???s tennis knowledge, we are experiencing that already.???
The returning Grizzly squad shows promise as well, with seniors Amanda and Rebecca Bran, both in top-form for the fall season. Amanda went 7-2 to finish out the 2010 season, playing roles between No. 1 and 5 for the Grizzlies. Rebecca, a Big Sky Player of the Week, missed some spring competition due to minor injuries, but performed well for Montana at No. 1, most notably combining with Davidson for a 11-7 stint in doubles.
Ascher said, ???Both Amanda and Rebecca put in some serious work over the summer, staying around the region and improving both in play and conditioning. Plus, they each had a great training partner in one-another.???
Junior Lauren Gibson will also be back for the Grizzlies. Ascher said, ???Lauren is a very smart player. We have already made some gains with her skills this fall. She has great consistency and as a junior, she brings leadership qualities as well.???
Alexander, a 2010 Big Sky Player of the Week honoree returns for her second season in top form. Ascher said, ???Constance has added some technical aspects to her game that make her a serious weapon. We will look to see her make a hard push in these first couple of tournaments.???
Davidson, who combined for a 14-8 in doubles through Grizzly spring play, will be a major player on the 2010-11 Montana squad. This past summer, the Grizzly sophomore took top honors in the Johnson Ranch open in Roseville, Calif., topping two ranked junior players and two standout Navy sophomores along the way. Ascher said, ???Heather comes in this fall with some improved fitness. With that level of fitness, she can be expected to track down more balls in competition. This level of conditioning also facilitates a raised level of confidence which will offer a step-or-two in her game.???
Davidson said, ???My forehand has improved over the summer. It has been helping me to win more points.
???Going into this year, I think that it will be less of a shock to start competing because I have already adjusted and I have my experience from last season.???
Ascher continued, ???All that you can do as a coach and a team is to put all of the right pieces in place to have a top collegiate program. We have those elements here at Montana, and when those exist, it???s just a matter of breaking through. When it happens, it will happen for these girls in a major way.??? ????????????
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