Women's tennis to face top regional teams in Boise
3/3/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
March 3, 2011
The University of Montana women's tennis team will play two tough road matches Saturday and Sunday verses top regional teams New Mexico and No. 62 Boise State. The Grizzlies will face off with New Mexico at 2:00 p.m. Saturday in a neutral-site match before taking on host-team Boise State at 10:00 a.m. Sunday.
The Grizzlies will be fresh off a four-match winning streak including a 4-3 win over Idaho, a perennial regional power-house. Montana holds a 6-5 record coming in to the competitive Boise weekend.
Montana's Saturday opponent, New Mexico, shares a 6-5 record with the Grizzlies, most recently topping Big Sky preseason No. 2 Northern Arizona 5-2.
New Mexico holds power at the top of its roster in Regional No. 9 Michaela Bezdickova. Bezdicova will likely face Rebecca Bran at No.1. Bran is the current Big Sky Player of the week, following a 6-0 weekend for the Grizzlies. With ample experience topping tough competition, Bran, in tandem with doubles partner Whitney Paluch have defeated ranked doubles teams in both fall and spring play, most recently upsetting the Regional No. 8 team from Idaho in an 8-2 victory. In singles action, Bran began her recent run of four consecutive wins in a three-set defeat of 8-1 Portland State athlete Yuki Sugiyama two weeks ago.
The Grizzlies have also been able to count on singles wins from Paluch, who will play for her tenth consecutive singles win versus New Mexico.
Of the Saturday opponent, UM coach Steve Ascher said, "We have a lot of respect for this team. Their 5-2 win over NAU, a strong conference program, has definitely put them on our radar. We are expecting a deep roster to challenge us through our entire lineup. As a team, they are currently unranked, but have historically been a top-50 program."
Sunday's match with Boise State will allow the Grizzlies selected rematches with athletes that were faced in three of four fall tournaments. The formerly 38th-ranked Broncos have faced eight ranked teams thus far in dual play, with an upset of No. 44 Harvard in the opening weeks of dual competition, the Broncos appeared poised for domination in regional matches. With a 7-4 record, the Boise team has fallen victim to tough match-ups and has demonstrated weakness in specific match-ups.
In fall play, Bran and Paluch lost a close doubles tiebreaker to the No. 1 Boise State team, which later owned a top-70 national ranking. Bran and Paluch would later top a Bronco team including ranked Marlena Peitzuch 8-5 at the Boise State Jack Taylor Invitational.
As the season has progressed, Bronco teams and Individuals have fallen from national ranking lists, though Pietzuch and Elyse Edwards do hold No. 7 and 8 regional rankings.
Though BSU No. 1 Lauren Megale recently played to three sets vs. her Idaho opponent who Bran also defeated last Sunday, the Broncos can boast one of the deepest rosters in collegiate tennis. In fall matchups, BSU No. 6 Morgan Basil defeated Grizzly No. 2 Constance Alexander in straight sets in a match at the Washington State Cougar Classic. Bronco Elyse Edwards, who currently plays at No. 5 was the tournament champion at that same event. Broncos topped Grizzlies 8-0 in fall matchups. The closest Grizzly performances were three set losses by Bran and Alexander to Pietzuch and Bronco No. 2 Sonia Klamczynsak, respectively.
With Alexander resting minor injuries this weekend, Ascher is still excited for the weekend possibilities for the Grizzly team. He said, "Constance (Alexander) sat out last Sunday's match with Idaho, and we saw athletes step up in a big way. This weekend will offer further opportunity for our players to face tough opponents and I am excited to see some solid competition.
"We started our season against some tough opponents, and it really prepared our athletes to compete at this level. Rebecca Bran, for example, has played well recently against a left-handed opponent. With that experience under her belt, I feel confident putting her against Megale, the BSU No. 1, who is also a lefty. Though that can be a tricky change for some competitors, Rebecca has shown that it doesn't phase her."
Bran, who was announced as the Big Sky Player of the week by the league office Wednesday, said, "I agree that the first several teams that we played were good enough that we had to make the adjustments and to step up our level of competition. From that first weekend, we have been following a progression where we each improved, finding a rhythm and a way to win against almost everyone."
