Montana
Idaho State
Montana wins sixth straight with shutout of Idaho State
4/20/2013 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
April 20, 2013
The Montana women's tennis team closed out its regular season by winning its season-high sixth straight match Saturday afternoon with a 7-0 victory over Idaho State at the Peak Racquet Club in Missoula.
The win gave the Grizzlies a 9-1 Big Sky Conference record and allowed Montana, which improved to 14-7 overall, to finish alone in second place, one game behind regular-season champion Sacramento State (11-13, 10-0 BSC).
Montana will take the No. 2 seed into next week's six-team Big Sky tournament, which will be played Friday through Sunday at Gold River, Calif. By earning the No. 2 seed, the Grizzlies receive a bye to Saturday's semifinal round.
Saturday's loss ended Idaho State's chances of earning the sixth and final tournament position. That spot now goes to Montana State, which hosts ISU Sunday afternoon in the final Big Sky match of the regular season.
Montana was dominant Saturday, winning all three doubles matches and all six singles matches, five of them in decisive straight sets.
Over the course of the Grizzlies' current six-match winning streak, they've won 14 of 18 doubles matches and 31 of 36 singles matches. With that kind of success, why bother looking past anyone and ahead to the tournament?
"We're really on a roll right now, and we've found a grove with how we're playing," said Heather Davidson, the team's lone senior. "When you're playing this well and beating teams like we have been, why overlook a match? Every match is fun right now."
Davidson and sophomore Laurence Pelchat blitzed their Idaho State opponents at No. 1 doubles 8-0, and sophomores Haley Driver and Precious Gbadamosi won easily as well at No. 3, 8-3, to improve to 14-1 together this spring and a team-best 8-1 in league matches.
At No. 2 doubles, junior Maddy Murray and sophomore Sasha Carter rallied back from a 7-3 deficit to win 8-7 (3). That gave the Grizzlies their fourth 3-0 doubles sweep in their last five matches.
Davidson, Pelchat and Driver all had quick, straight-set wins to open singles play to put Montana up 4-0. After dropping her first set 6-3, Carter bounced back to win the next two 6-1, 6-1.
In the second session of singles, Gbadamosi won at No. 5 and junior Ashley Mackey won at No. 6.
Gbadamosi finished the Big Sky schedule 10-0 in singles matches against league opponents. Carter went 9-1, Davidson and Pelchat both 8-2.
Montana will ride the momentum of its six-match winning streak into next week's tournament, which opens Friday with quarterfinal matches between No. 3 Northern Arizona and No. 6 Montana State, and No. 4 Northern Colorado and No. 5 Southern Utah.
If the seeds hold, Montana would face Northern Arizona next Saturday. It would be the fifth straight year the Grizzlies and Lumberjacks would meet in the tournament.
And any potential tournament champion will likely have to go through Sacramento State, which has won 102 straight matches against Big Sky opponents.
The No. 3 Grizzlies defeated the No. 2 Lumberjacks in last year's semifinals, 4-2, then lost 4-0 to top-seed Sacramento State with a lineup that featured three freshmen -- Carter, Gbadamosi and Pelchat -- who are now experienced sophomores.
"This is the best team I've been on in my four years here," Davidson said. "And it's one I think can win the tournament.
"We had three freshmen last year, and they didn't really know what to expect. Now they do, and we know that Sac State isn't that much better than we are. We know we can do it."
Montana 7, Idaho State 0
April 20, 2013 at Missoula, Mont. (Peak Racquet Club)
Singles Results
1. Heather Davidson (UM) def. Marian Tangarife (ISU), 6-2, 6-2
2. Laurence Pelchat (UM) def. Kasey Bacon (ISU), 6-2, 6-4
3. Haley Driver (UM) def. Svenja Tegtmeier (ISU), 6-1, 6-1
4. Sasha Carter (UM) def. Madelyn Weltzin (ISU), 3-6, 6-1, 6-1
5. Precious Gbadamosi (UM) def. Laura Theus (ISU), 6-3, 6-1
6. Ashley Mackey (UM) def. Zamira Vasquez (ISU), 6-2, 6-0
Doubles Results
1. Heather Davidson/Laurence Pelchat (UM) def. Marian Tangarife/Laura Theus (ISU), 8-0
2. Sasha Carter/Maddy Murray (UM) def. Wiebke Boeckmann/Svenja Tegtmeier (ISU), 8-7 (7-3)
3. Haley Driver/Precious Gbadamosi (UM) def. Kasey Bacon/Madelyn Weltzin (ISU), 8-3
Match Notes
Idaho State: 5-13, 2-7 BSC
Montana: 14-7, 9-1 BSC
Order of Finish
Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (3,1,2,4,5,6)
Players Mentioned
