Montana
Sacramento State
Montana's upset bid comes up short
4/28/2013 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
April 28, 2013
Montana's quest to become the first Big Sky Conference women's tennis team to defeat Sacramento State since 2002 came up short Sunday afternoon at the Gold River Racquet Club in Gold River, Calif., with a 4-1 loss to the top-seeded Hornets in the championship match of the conference tournament.
Sacramento State (13-13) won its 105th straight match against a league opponent and won its 12th consecutive Big Sky tournament championship. The Hornets now advance to the NCAA tournament.
Montana's season ends with a 15-8 record and with its second straight appearance in the title match.
After Saturday's 4-2 semifinal victory over No. 3 Northern Arizona, fifth-year Griz coach Steve Ascher had a good idea of what was needed if his team was going to take down the Hornets on Sunday.
Ascher wasn't expecting his team to win the doubles point, but he thought Montana could win three out of four matches at Nos. 3-6 singles. To earn the fourth and winning point would require Heather Davidson at No. 1 or Laurence Pelchat at No. 2 to upset one of Sac State's top two players.
Early on the plan was coming to fruition. The Hornets easily won the doubles point with 8-0 and 8-1 wins at Nos. 1 and 2, but once singles rolled around, Haley Driver at No. 3, Sasha Carter at No. 4 and Precious Gbadamosi at No. 5 all won their opening sets, and Pelchat opened up a 4-2 lead at No. 2.
Four points were there for the taking, and therein lies the biggest challenge for Montana, which is bound by geography from playing the sort of national-level matches needed to develop a finisher's mentality. The kind of matches that Sacramento State has within a few hours' drive of campus.
To wit, the Hornets went 1-13 in nonconference matches this spring, but nine of those were played against nationally ranked opponents. Victories were scarce, but the lessons gained become invaluable when a championship is at stake.
"To win today we needed to reach a certain level of play, then maintain that level," Ascher said. "That's part of the development of our program.
"We are not able to schedule the level of competition that a program like Sac State can, and that's a big resource that they have. That geography will continue to be our big challenge."
And with that foreshadowing in place: Jennifer Nguyen won four straight games to rally past Pelchat 6-4 at No. 2, and Nguyen won 6-2 in the second.
Carter finished off a straight-set victory at No. 4 to pull the Grizzlies within 2-1, but Driver and Gbadamosi were unable to do the same. The both lost their second sets.
With Rebeca Delgado's 6-2, 6-1 victory over Davidson at No. 1, that put the pressure on Ashley Mackey at No. 6 to extend her match to a third set to keep three points on the table for Montana.
Mackey dropped her opening set 6-2 but was down just 4-3 in the second and serving. Andrea Gomez Carus broke Mackey's serve and went on to win 6-4 to clinch the victory.
In sticking with tournament policy, Driver's and Gbadamosi's matches went unfinished.
Montana moved one step closer to Sac State in 2013, and Ascher will have everyone but Davidson returning next season. Of course that does little to take away the sting of losing a valuable senior and the type of championship match that only comes along once a year.
"It's going to be difficult to see Heather leave the program, because she's meant so much to the team," Ascher said. "She poured her heart and soul into this match today.
"We're just continuing to raise the bar for the program, and that's why we're here. With both tennis teams making the championship match in back-to-back seasons, it's an exciting time for both the men's and women's programs at Montana."
Sacramento State 4, Montana 1
April 28, 2013 at Gold River, Calif. (Gold River Racquet Club)
Singles Results
1. Rebeca Delgado (SAC) def. Heather Davidson (UM), 6-2, 6-1
2. Jennifer Nguyen (SAC) def. Laurence Pelchat (UM), 6-4, 6-2
3. Sophie Lohscheidt (SAC) vs. Haley Driver (UM), 3-6, 6-4, unfinished
4. Sasha Carter (UM) def. Olivia Boija (SAC), 6-2, 6-3
5. Katharina Knoebl (SAC) vs. Precious Gbadamosi (UM), 2-6, 6-2, unfinished
6. Andrea Gomez Carus (SAC) def. Ashley Mackey (UM), 6-2, 6-4
Doubles Results
1. Olivia Boija/Rebeca Delgado (SAC) def. Heather Davidson/Laurence Pelchat (UM), 8-0
2. Katharina Knoebl/Jennifer Nguyen (SAC) def. Sasha Carter/Maddy Murray (UM), 8-1
3. Andrea Gomez Carus/Sophie Lohscheidt (SAC) vs. Haley Driver/Precious Gbadamosi (UM), 5-5, unfinished
Match Notes
Montana: 15-8
Sacramento State: 13-13
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1); Singles (1,4,2,6)
Players Mentioned
