Montana
Weber State
Griz win fifth straight, 7-0 at Weber State
3/31/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
March 31, 2014
The Montana women's tennis team won its fifth consecutive match and improved its Big Sky Conference record to 5-0 with a 7-0 victory over Weber State Monday afternoon at the Ogden Athletic Club in Ogden, Utah.
The Grizzlies (10-5, 5-0 BSC) swept all three doubles matches and won all six singles matches in straight sets against the Wildcats (6-12, 0-5 BSC).
Montana, which won 5-2 at Idaho State Sunday, is 2-0 on its four-match road trip. The Grizzlies will play at No. 31 Utah Wednesday evening and at Utah State Thursday.
Juniors Haley Driver and Precious Gbadamosi won 8-0 at No. 1 doubles Monday, and their teammates followed with 8-5 and 8-6 wins at Nos. 2 and 3.
With the three wins, Montana improves to 14-1 in doubles in its five Big Sky Conference matches.
"We're playing really simple tennis. The players are picking up on weaknesses and picking up on the nuances of the match where they can take advantage of things," said UM coach Steve Ascher.
"The teams are working to communicate together, but more than anything, they're just being disciplined and really structured."
Junior Sasha Carter had little trouble at No. 3 singles, winning 6-0, 6-1, to put Montana up 2-0, and junior Laurence Pelchat and senior Ashley Mackey picked up wins at Nos. 4 and 5 to make it 4-0 and clinch the win.
Junior Haley Driver improved to 6-1 this spring at No. 1 singles with a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Agata Bachanek.
"Haley had a bit of a contentious match against a pretty emotional opponent," Ascher said. "She did a really good job of staying present on her side of the court and not getting mixed up in the emotions of the match.
"The rest of the players just took care of business."
Driver, Carter and Mackey are all 5-0 in singles against Big Sky Conference opponents. Driver and Mackey have not dropped a set in their five wins.
On Wednesday the Grizzlies will face the No. 31 Utes at Utah's Eccles Tennis Center. Utah is 10-6 and has played 12 of its 16 matches against nationally ranked opponents.
The Utes have home victories this season over No. 50 Denver, No. 71 BYU, No. 23 Houston and No. 62 Marshall.
"We've played some really good teams this year, and this is going to be another fun, exciting match," Ascher said.
"I think those past experiences will allow our players to get into the right kind of mindset when they approach this match and maintain a level of calmness and looseness that will allow them to play at a high level."
After playing Thursday at Utah State, Montana will be home for its final five regular-season matches, beginning Sunday morning against Eastern Washington.
Montana 7, Weber State 0
March 31, 2014 at Ogden, Utah (Ogden Athletic Club)
Singles competition
1. Haley Driver (UM) def. Agata Bachanek (WSU) 6-4, 6-2
2. Precious Gbadamosi (UM) def. Kristi Elmer (WSU) 6-2, 6-2
3. Sasha Carter (UM) def. Ashley Tanner (WSU) 6-0, 6-1
4. Laurence Pelchat (UM) def. Nittaya Phonharath (WSU) 6-2, 6-1
5. Ashley Mackey (UM) def. Michelle Warwick (WSU) 6-0, 6-4
6. Maddy Murray (UM) def. Annika Karlsen (WSU) 6-4, 6-3
Doubles competition
1. Haley Driver/Precious Gbadamosi (UM) def. Kristi Elmer/Agata Bachanek (WSU) 8-0
2. Sasha Carter/Laurence Pelchat (UM) def. Thais Kurer/Nittaya Phonharath (WSU) 8-5
3. Ashley Mackey/Maddy Murray (UM) def. Ashley Tanner/Michelle Warwick (WSU) 8-6
Match Notes:
Montana: 10-5, 5-0 BSC
Weber State: 6-12, 0-5 BSC
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (3,4,5,2,1,6)
Players Mentioned
