Montana
Sacramento State
Griz unable to end Hornets' winning streak
3/22/2013 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
March 22, 2013
The Montana women's tennis team lost 6-1 to Sacramento State Friday afternoon in a match played at the Spare Time Indoor Tennis Center in Gold River, Calif. The loss was the first this season for the Grizzlies in five Big Sky Conference matches.
The Hornets (6-8, 6-0 BSC) won their 98th straight match against a Big Sky opponent and took a commanding lead in the league race. Sac State now has head-to-head wins over both Montana and Northern Arizona, the two teams picked directly behind the Hornets in the preseason coaches' poll.
Montana (8-6, 4-1 BSC) and Northern Arizona (9-8, 2-1 BSC) meet in Missoula on April 7 in the chase for second place.
The Grizzlies won at No. 3 doubles behind sophomores Haley Driver and Precious Gbadamosi, the pair's eighth-straight win at No. 3, but the Hornets won 8-4 at No. 1 and 8-5 at No. 2 to take an early 1-0 advantage.
Gbadamosi collected Montana's lone singles victory with a 6-1, 6-7 (3), 1-0 (10-7) victory over Siobhan Ryan-Boven at No. 6, Gbadamosi's eighth-straight singles victory. Sac State won Nos. 1-5 in straight sets.
It was another frustrating loss to the Hornets for coach Steve Ascher, but he was quick to point out after the match that in three of the five singles losses, the Grizzlies played tighter second sets than they did the first. The other two were played to the same score.
"I feel like we competed really well," he said. "We had some opportunities to maybe push some of the singles matches into a third set, and that could have made things interesting.
"We did a nice job of making some adjustments during the match, and that made some of our second sets closer than the first. By not backing down, I think we showed our competitiveness and the fight we have as a team."
The challenge Saturday -- facing San Francisco at Golden Gate Park -- will be just as tough. The Dons are 8-6 and defeated Montana State 6-1 Thursday and BYU Friday.
"We had an opportunity (after Friday's match) to process the result, and I think we'll respond well tomorrow," Ascher said.
"This team is getting so much better at competing against higher-level competition. We're getting much more consistent from match to match, and that's where we want to be as a team."
Sacramento State 6, Montana 1
March 22, 2013 at Gold River, Calif. (Spare Time Indoor Tennis Center)
Singles competition
1. Rebeca Delgado (SAC) def. Heather Davidson (UM), 6-1, 6-3
2. Jennifer Nguyen (SAC) def. Sasha Carter (UM), 6-1, 6-2
3. Sophie Lohscheidt (SAC) def. Haley Driver (UM), 6-4, 6-4
4. Olivia Boija (SAC) def. Laurence Pelchat (UM), 6-3, 6-4
5. Katharina Knoebl (SAC) def. Ashley Mackey (UM), 6-2, 6-2
6. Precious Gbadamosi (UM) def. Siobhan Ryan-Bovey (SAC), 6-1, 6-7 (3), 1-0 (10-7)
Doubles competition
1. Rebeca Delgado/Olivia Boija (SAC) def. Heather Davidson/Laurence Pelchat (UM), 8-4
2. Katharina Knoebl/Jennifer Nguyen (SAC) def. Sasha Carter/Maddy Murray (UM), 8-5
3. Haley Driver/Precious Gbadamosi (UM) def. Andrea Gomez Carus/Sophie Lohscheidt (SAC), 8-6
Match Notes
Sacramento State: 6-8, 6-0 BSC
Montana: 8-6, 4-1 BSC
Players Mentioned
