Griz to play two matches in Spokane

The Montana women's tennis team, in search of its first victory over a Division I opponent this season, will play a pair of matches this weekend in Spokane, Wash.

The Grizzlies (1-6) will play Gonzaga (4-0) on Friday at 5 p.m. (MT) and Utah State (6-2) on Saturday at 11 a.m. (MT). Both matches will be played at Gonzaga's three-year-old Stevens Center.

Montana is coming off a winless road trip last week to Grand Forks, N.D., where the Grizzlies fell to North Dakota, Northern Iowa and South Dakota State, all by 5-2 scores.

"We've got to find a way to be a little better, a little sharper," said coach Steve Ascher. "Everybody on the team wants to do well and they all want success. The challenge is to find a way to take that desire and put it toward doing the right things in a match to get the result they want.

"That's why these matches are so important. There is no other way for us to replicate the pressure you get in match situations."

Montana will be tested in both matches, starting on Friday against the unbeaten Bulldogs, who have beaten the Grizzlies 7-0 in each of the last two seasons.

The Bulldogs, picked third in the West Coast Conference preseason poll with a first-place vote, is 4-0, with wins over Eastern Washington, 7-0, and Idaho, 4-3, the two-time defending Big Sky Conference tournament champion.

Gonzaga is led at the top of its lineup by Sophie Whittle, who entered the season with a national ranking of 116.

On Saturday morning Montana will take on a 6-2 Utah State team, whose only losses have come against Missouri and Colorado. The Aggies have three wins over Big Sky opponents, including a 7-0 sweep of North Dakota, which defeated Montana on Friday.

The teams last met in 2014, when Utah State won 4-3 at home over a Montana team that would go on to win its first Big Sky championship.

This will be Montana's final weekend of purely nonconference matches. Upcoming matches against UC Davis, Boise State and Wyoming are all part of Big Sky weekends.

"No matter how difficult you make the nonconference schedule, the players feel more pressure when it's a conference match. All of a sudden you're thinking standings and how outcomes relate to the conference tournament," said Ascher.

"These matches are nice because they are against really good teams without that pressure. We're competing well enough and getting close, but there is a difference between getting close and pulling out wins that we're still trying to learn."

Individually, senior Hannah Sulz is coming off a 2-1 weekend at No. 1 singles. She defeated North Dakota's Ella Hassall and Northern Iowa's Jieke Stroobant in straight sets.

Playing at No. 2, sophomore Lidia Dukic also had a pair of wins, including a 6-0, 6-1 victory over South Dakota State's Maria Laura Velazco.

Playing at No. 3 doubles, senior Ana Carbo and sophomore Nathalie Joanlanne picked up wins over pairs from Northern Iowa and South Dakota State. Their 7-6 victory against Northern Iowa helped Montana pick up its first doubles point this year against a Division I opponent.

Montana will play matches at UC Davis and Sacramento State next week. The Grizzlies will make their home debut the following weekend, with matches against Idaho State, Southern Utah and Boise State at the Peak Racquet Club on March 10-12.

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Players Mentioned

Lidia Dukic

Nathalie Joanlanne

Hannah Sulz

University of Montana Athletics