UM women's tennis opens spring play in Eugene
1/25/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Jan. 25, 2011
The University of Montana Women's tennis team opens spring play with its toughest weekend of the year Friday, going string-to-string with teams from the PAC 10 and Big 12 conferences. Montana opens in Eugene Friday with a 6:00 p.m. (MT) match at Oregon, and will then move to a 2:00 p.m. Saturday contest vs. Iowa State.
With a double vs. top tier teams on his opening weekend, third-year UM Women's Tennis Head Coach Steve Ascher said, "It has been our goal to compete with teams that are at that higher level of D-I competition. When you post results like we did in the fall, it can be easier to schedule a match against some of those more competitive programs. Unfortunately, those teams are only offering dates earlier in the season."
The Grizzlies, who were picked to finish third in Big Sky pre-season polls, faced their first practice Monday, though athletes who wintered in warmer climates assure their fitness. Heather Davidson, from Rocklin, Calif. said, "Most of us have had a lot of opportunities to play over the break. I am personally eager to get back to competition. The entire team played so well in the fall, and we are really excited to get to the spring season."
Ascher, quick to minimize Big Sky focus so early on, said, "I want our players to continue to progress and grow upon the matches and experiences that they were part of in the fall. I think we have had some great news with the initial mountain regional rankings and obviously our goal is to go after Sacramento State University for a shot at the Big Sky Title. That being said, I believe that we need to begin the approach to the season with our focus staying on each match. We cannot get in front of ourselves by thinking about what needs to happen four months from now."
Ducks a lofty challenge: Montana will kick off the season vs. PAC 10 power Oregon in Eugene. The Ducks hail from a conference that holds six of the top 50 slots in the Jan. ITA national rankings. These conference teams include No. 1 Stanford, No. 5 UCLA, No. 10 California, No.19 USC, No. 20 Arizona State and No. 49 Arizona. Oregon will be one of the top teams that UM meets in direct competition in 2010.
The Ducks will be led by the northwest region No. 17 Pavlina Smatova, who's fall highlights included a quarterfinal appearance in her ITA Regional Championship. Smatova combines with Patricia Skwronski to make the No. 59 ITA national doubles pairing.
Last weekend, the Ducks played to a 2-0 finish vs. in-state teams Portland State and the more formidable University of Portland. The Vikings, who finished ninth in the 2010 Big Sky Conference standings, fell 7-0 to the Ducks, while the Pilots took a 6-1 loss before the Eugene Squad.
In her Sunday singles match, Smatova took a 6-0, 6-0 win at No. 1 over Lacey Pflibsen of Portland.
Iowa State not to be overlooked: The Cyclones have thus far recorded an 0-2 early season record vs. Division-one teams, falling 0-7 in their season opener before No. 20 Arizona State, and dropping a close, 3-4 loss to UC Davis. Though lacking early season wins, the Ames, Iowa team should not be underestimated in the neutral-site match with the Grizzlies.
The Cyclones, unranked in regional play, finished out 9-15 in 2010 while competing in the Big 12 conference. The Big 12, which plays host to seven of the top 75 teams in the country, is home to No. 3 Baylor and No. 17 Texas. The 2010 Cyclones played to a tenth-place conference finish, taking a 5-2 upset over No. 71 Colorado along the way.
The 2011 Iowa State team will be headlined by Cyclone Maria Macedo, who took her No. 1 match in the Jan. 22 competition vs. the Aggies. Macedo will likely combine with Tessa Lang at No. 1 doubles to take on the Montana power of Rebecca Bran and Whitney Paluch, who together carry a No. 10 ranking in the Mountain region.
Iowa doubles play may start out shaky, as the Cyclones continue "trying out" a variety of doubles pairings into spring play according to Armando Espinosa, the fourth-year Iowa State coach. With the top two Grizzly doubles pairings going 9-5 and 8-2 respectively through fall play, the Grizzlies may enter singes play with a 1-0 lead Saturday.
Lang, a Cyclone who took her No. 3 match with a three set win over Aggie opposition Sunday, will face a tough Montana singles opponent Saturday, facing any five possible athletes, including the regionally Ranked Paluch, Rebecca Bran or Amanda Bran, as well as All-Big Sky threats Constance Alexander and Heather Davidson.
Grizzly depth a dual-match key: The 2010 Grizzlies relied much on performances from athletes between Nos. 2-5, with Alexander and Davidson claiming 12 wins apiece between Nos. 2 and 4. The 2011 squad will benefit from depth provided by Paluch, as well as an improved Amanda Bran, who took the regions' No. 19 singles ranking in early Jan.
Bran may not play the opening weekend, potentially sitting out the contests as a precautionary measure related to a minor fall injury. Monday, the senior from Melbourne, Australia referenced the Montana depth, saying, "Everyone worked so hard over the entire fall, really making it as though we were a wholly improved team in those tournaments. The work done by everyone over the break was the same, with people looking even fitter at practice today. Everyone is ready to go out there, knowing that no matter where you play, you have a job to do and that your match is helping the team."
