Montana
Long Beach State
Montana falls to Long Beach State 7-0
3/8/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
March 8, 2014
The Montana Grizzlies women's tennis team lost 7-0 to nationally-ranked No. 57 Long Beach State on Saturday afternoon at the Rhodes Tennis Center in southern California.
Two singles matches went to third set tiebreakers, and the Griz fought hard against the 9-1 49ers. Head coach Steve Ascher says the match provided a great learning experience.
"You come into their environment, and you get to play outside, and the whole time you're just putting everything on the line and continuing to find out what it takes to beat a nationally-ranked team," Ascher said.
Long Beach State swept the doubles point to start the four hour duel.
No. 3 doubles provided a close match, where Laura Eales and Holly Reid held off Montana's Ashley Mackey and Maddy Murray 8-5.
"Ashley and Maddy really stepped up, and I think we played pretty good doubles," Ascher said.
In singles play, Laurence Pelchat and Mackey both narrowly lost in third-set tiebreakers. At No. 4, Karolina Rozenberg beat Laurence Pelchat in three sets with an incredibly close 11-9 breaker. At No. 5, Hayley Thompson clipped Ashley Mackey 6-4, 3-6 with a 10-3 tiebreaker.
"Ashley and Laurence had a lot of opportunities," Ascher said. "They played good tennis. They've been working on some things, and those things came to the forefront. They put together good showings forcing those into three sets.
"It's a learning experience, it's building a belief, it's building your game," Ascher added. "We're just putting all the pieces together and one day beating a nationally-ranked team is going to happen for our team. The big thing is just continuing to learn. It's a whole different thing to play on this level."
The Griz play Cal State Northridge Sunday at 11 a.m.
No. 57 Long Beach State 7, Montana 0
March 08, 2014 at Long Beach, Calif. (Rhodes Tennis Center)
Singles competition
No. 1 Ebba Unden (LBSU) def. Precious Gbadamosi (MON) 6-0, 6-1
No. 2 Maeva Razakasoa (LBSU) def. Haley Driver (MON) 6-2, 6-3
No. 3 Julie Gerard (LBSU) def. Sasha Carter (MON) 6-3, 6-4
No. 4 Karolina Rozenberg (LBSU) def. Laurence Pelchat (MON) 7-6 (7-5), 2-6, 1-0 (11-9)
No. 5 Hayley Thompson (LBSU) def. Ashley Mackey (MON) 6-4, 3-6, 1-0 (10-3)
No. 6 Holly Reid (LBSU) def. Maddy Murray (MON) 6-1, 6-4
Doubles competition
No. 1 Ebba Unden/Maeva Razakasoa (LBSU) def. Precious Gbadamosi/Haley Driver (MON) 8-4
No.2 Karolina Rozenberg/Julie Gerard (LBSU) def. Sasha Carter/Laurence Pelchat (MON) 8-2
No. 3 Laura Eales/Holly Reid (LBSU) def. Ashley Mackey/Maddy Murray (MON) 8-5
Match Notes:
Montana 4-3, 1-0 BSC
Long Beach State 9-1; National ranking #57
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (1,6,3,2,5,4)
Players Mentioned
