Gbadamosi, Pelchat make season debuts for women's tennis
9/25/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
The University of Montana women's tennis team heads to Pullman, Wash., this weekend for its second tournament of the fall season.
Seniors Precious Gbadamosi and Laurence Pelchat will see their first action of the season after remaining home from the first tournament.
After keeping the two at home in a cycle designed to limit travel miles in the fall season, coach Steve Ascher is looking forward to the two girls getting match experience.
In Boise last weekend, four newcomers to the Grizzly program saw their first action in competitive matches. Cam Kincaid, Catherine Orfanos and Christy Scott are freshmen, while sophomore Hannah Sulz is a transfer from Nebraska.
"It was the first tournament for a lot of them trying to get used to that college experience, and they're competing well," Ascher said. "From there we just start to work on pieces of their game and help them improve and strengthen areas (of their game)."
It's still early in the season and Ascher has yet to decide on a final line-up. The doubles teams this week will be different from those Ascher put on the court last week.
"We're going to mix them up a little bit, which will be fun. I think our doubles is looking good. We just need more reps," Ascher said.
Ascher added he is excited that his young freshmen had the chance to watch Grizzly senior Sasha Carter play last weekend. Carter won a thrilling three-set match, with the final two sets decided in a tiebreaker.
"To have three freshmen and two sophomores watching what can happen if you put in the work and develop a game is immeasurable," Ascher said.
The team had success last weekend against Weber State, a Big Sky opponent, and Ascher is looking forward to the season.
"The team had some nice play and will continue to get better," he said. "We are a very deep and hard-working team. We are just at the beginning of an exciting year."
