Griz in Portland, looking to extend winning streak
3/7/2013 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
March 7, 2013
The Montana women's tennis team will put its five-match winning streak on the line this weekend with matches at Portland and Portland State.
The Grizzlies (7-4, 3-0 BSC) will face the Pilots (5-6) on Friday at 1 p.m. (MT) at UP's Louisiana-Pacific Tennis Center. Montana will meet the Vikings (6-6, 1-2 BSC) in the teams' Big Sky Conference match Saturday at 2 p.m. (MT) at Club Green Meadows across the Columbia River in Vancouver, Wash.
With five-straight wins, Montana is the hottest team in the Big Sky Conference, women's or men's. At 3-0 the Grizzlies sit atop the league standings. Perennial heavyweights Northern Arizona and Sacramento State are also unbeaten, but both teams have played just a single league match to this point.
Montana defeated New Mexico 5-2, Idaho 5-2 and Montana State 6-1 last weekend at Bozeman.
"Since I've been here it seems like it's about week seven, either in the fall or the spring, before we really start hitting our stride," UM coach Steve Ascher said. "You've got the summer break and the winter break, and it just takes time for everyone to kind of get back into the rhythm of competing.
"So I really like where we're at. I like how we're practicing, and I like how the players are working through pressure situations."
Friday's match will be the fourth-straight season Montana will be facing Portland. The Grizzlies won last year's matchup 4-3, breaking the Pilots' four-match winning streak over Montana.
In that match, Portland handily won all three doubles matches, all by 8-4 scores or better, but Montana won four of six singles matches to rally for the victory.
Friday's match will have two interesting secondary dynamics to it. First, Portland is Montana coach Steve Ascher's alma mater, and it's where he both played and got his coaching start. Second, it's a cozy three-court facility that has been known to produce matches that exceed eight hours in length.
The teams will play the three doubles matches, then No. 1-3 singles, followed by No. 4-6 singles.
"It's not my favorite trip of the year, because I don't like competing against my alma mater," Ascher said. "I played there, and I worked with both of the (men's and women's) coaches there.
"It's a nice match to pick up when you're facing Portland State, but I try to put on blinders and just do the job."
As for the facility, Ascher added, "It can be a tricky place to play, because it has the three courts. It's nice that you get a lot of player-coach interaction, but it can make for a long day."
If common opponents are any indication, Friday should be a tight match. Portland, which is 3-0 against Big Sky Conference opponents, defeated Idaho 6-1 and Montana State 6-1 and lost 7-0 at Washington State. Those results almost mirror Montana's outcomes against those opponents.
"Portland is a solid team and much deeper than usual," Ascher said. "They are playing some good tennis, and we're playing good tennis, so I feel it should be a good battle."
On Saturday Montana will face a Portland State team that hasn't played a match since losing at Weber State 4-3 on Feb. 24. The Vikings also own a 5-2 road win at Idaho State and a 4-3 loss to Montana State last month at Club Green Meadows.
Portland defeated Portland State, which is 4-2 at Club Green Meadows this season, 6-1 a month ago on UP's campus.
Montana has not lost to the Vikings since PSU resurrected its women's program in 2006 to begin play in 2007-08. The coach for the job? Steve Ascher.
Ascher was coaching the Vikings when they lost to the Grizzlies 4-3 in 2008, and he's been on Montana's side ever since. The Grizzlies have won the last four seasons 5-2, 7-0, 6-1 and 7-0.
"Portland State is an emotional team," Ascher says. "They come into their matches with high energy. I think last weekend was good preparation for that, because New Mexico, Idaho and Montana State are emotional teams as well.
"Portland State really embraces the idea of competing against Montana, so it will be our job to be prepared to go in there and get after it."
Montana will be off from matches next weekend, then travel to central California for matches against Sacramento State and San Francisco March 22-23.
