Friday, February 17
Grand Forks, N.D.
Noon (MT)
Montana
at
North Dakota
One trip, three matches for women’s tennis
2/16/2017 11:07:00 AM | Women's Tennis
The Montana women's tennis team will open its Big Sky Conference schedule on Friday when the Grizzlies play surprising North Dakota at noon (MT) at Choice Health and Fitness in Grand Forks.
Montana will get two additional neutral-site matches out of the trip on Saturday. The Grizzlies will play Northern Iowa at 8 a.m. (MT) and South Dakota State at noon (MT).
Montana is one of four Big Sky teams that have yet to play a league match. Among those who have, North Dakota is off to a 2-1 start.
The Fighting Hawks, who went 0-11 in Big Sky matches last spring, opened their dual season with a 4-3 win at Weber State against a Wildcats team that was the No. 4 seed at last year's Big Sky tournament.
UND, 2-4 overall, lost the next day at Idaho State 5-2 but picked up a 6-1 home win over Portland State last Saturday.
"This is the final time we go to North Dakota, so there is something to this trip from a historical perspective," said coach Steve Ascher, whose team will get the Fighting Hawks in Missoula next year, the last for North Dakota as a member of the Big Sky Conference.
"Most of the teams in the Big Sky have already played league matches, so it would be good to get off on the right foot."
Northern Iowa is 2-1, South Dakota State is 0-5.
"When you're building a schedule, the biggest thing you're trying to do is get your players some experience, and experience comes with playing matches," said Ascher.
"We're limited by the NCAA with the number of competitive dates we can use. That's why we double up when we can, so we can get some extra matches we wouldn't otherwise get."
Ascher will travel to Grand Forks with seniors Stanzi Stuijt and Hannah Sulz, junior Catherine Orfanos, sophomores Lidia Dukic and Nathalie Joanlanne, and freshman Milica Panic.
It's the same group that traveled to Iowa two weeks ago and dropped 7-0 decisions to both Iowa State and Iowa.
"Everyone has been practicing well and is growing, and that's exciting to see," said Ascher. "We'll put it live this weekend, then see what kind of steps we need to take to continue building. I feel like we're going in the right direction."
Montana will play matches against Gonzaga and Utah State next week at Spokane, Wash., then head to California the opening week of March for matches against UC Davis and Sacramento State.
The Grizzlies' home openers will be against Idaho State, Southern Utah and Boise State on March 10-12.
Montana will get two additional neutral-site matches out of the trip on Saturday. The Grizzlies will play Northern Iowa at 8 a.m. (MT) and South Dakota State at noon (MT).
Montana is one of four Big Sky teams that have yet to play a league match. Among those who have, North Dakota is off to a 2-1 start.
The Fighting Hawks, who went 0-11 in Big Sky matches last spring, opened their dual season with a 4-3 win at Weber State against a Wildcats team that was the No. 4 seed at last year's Big Sky tournament.
UND, 2-4 overall, lost the next day at Idaho State 5-2 but picked up a 6-1 home win over Portland State last Saturday.
"This is the final time we go to North Dakota, so there is something to this trip from a historical perspective," said coach Steve Ascher, whose team will get the Fighting Hawks in Missoula next year, the last for North Dakota as a member of the Big Sky Conference.
"Most of the teams in the Big Sky have already played league matches, so it would be good to get off on the right foot."
Northern Iowa is 2-1, South Dakota State is 0-5.
"When you're building a schedule, the biggest thing you're trying to do is get your players some experience, and experience comes with playing matches," said Ascher.
"We're limited by the NCAA with the number of competitive dates we can use. That's why we double up when we can, so we can get some extra matches we wouldn't otherwise get."
Ascher will travel to Grand Forks with seniors Stanzi Stuijt and Hannah Sulz, junior Catherine Orfanos, sophomores Lidia Dukic and Nathalie Joanlanne, and freshman Milica Panic.
It's the same group that traveled to Iowa two weeks ago and dropped 7-0 decisions to both Iowa State and Iowa.
"Everyone has been practicing well and is growing, and that's exciting to see," said Ascher. "We'll put it live this weekend, then see what kind of steps we need to take to continue building. I feel like we're going in the right direction."
Montana will play matches against Gonzaga and Utah State next week at Spokane, Wash., then head to California the opening week of March for matches against UC Davis and Sacramento State.
The Grizzlies' home openers will be against Idaho State, Southern Utah and Boise State on March 10-12.
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
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