Griz with three home matches this weekend

For the first time in nearly 11 months, the Montana women's tennis team will get a chance to play at home when the Grizzlies host three matches this weekend at the Peak Racquet Club in Missoula.

Montana will host Idaho State at 2 p.m. on Friday, Southern Utah at 10 a.m. on Saturday and Boise State at 9 a.m. on Sunday. All matches are free to the public.

The Grizzlies' last home match was April 17.

"The players are excited, because they feel like they've been on the road a ton," said coach Steve Ascher, whose team played in four road tournaments last fall, then played its first 11 matches of the spring dual season away from Missoula.

"They're excited to play at home and show the fans how hard they've been working and improving their games. Fans who come out will see a level of tennis that's very high and find out that college tennis is really exciting."

Montana has not won a match since Jan. 21 and hasn't defeated a Division I opponent this season, but recent results have been promising.

The Grizzlies lost a competitive match to Utah State two weeks ago in Spokane, then pushed Big Sky Conference preseason favorite Sacramento State on Saturday before falling 4-3.

"I think we're ready to step forward. Sac State was a good showing and allowed the players to continue to believe in the process," said Ascher.

"It would be great if we can get on a little bit of a roll this weekend, because there is nothing like doing the hard work and enjoying the confidence that comes from winning."

Montana (1-10, 0-2 BSC) will face a mixed collection of opponents this weekend, starting with a young Idaho State (3-5, 2-0 BSC) squad on Friday.

The Bengals underwent an extreme makeover following last season. All nine players on this year's roster are freshmen for second-year coach Gretchen Maloney, who played at Montana State in the late 80s.

Even so, ISU is off to a 2-0 start in Big Sky matches, with a 5-2 win over North Dakota and a 6-1 decision over Portland State.

On Saturday Montana will face Southern Utah (1-9, 0-4 BSC), another team seeking its first league win. The Thunderbirds lost 4-0 to Idaho, 6-1 to Sacramento State and 7-0 to Northern Arizona, then came close to defeating North Dakota last weekend, falling 4-3 on the road in Grand Forks.

SUU will open the road trip with a match at Montana State on Friday.

The biggest test of the weekend -- but without the pressure of it being a Big Sky match -- will come on Sunday when the Grizzlies host the Broncos (7-4).

Not only will the Grizzlies be coming off a pair of matches, not only will Boise State be fresh for what will be its only match of the weekend, the Broncos are also really good.

Boise State's losses have come against Colorado, Denver, BYU and Oregon, and the Broncos are 4-0 against Big Sky opponents, with mostly lopsided wins over Eastern Washington (6-1), Weber State (7-0), Idaho State (7-0) and Montana State (4-3).

Against Utah State two weeks ago, Montana had to default at No. 6 singles because of injuries and lost in three sets at No. 5, two points that could have swung the 5-2 decision.

The Grizzlies opened last weekend's trip to California with a loss at UC Davis, then played another solid match on Saturday, falling 4-3 to the Hornets.

Montana won the doubles point for just the second time in 10 matches this spring against Division I competition, with Catherine Orfanos and Hannah Sulz rolling 6-0 at No. 1 and Nathalie Joanlanne and Cam Kincaid winning 6-3 at No. 3.

Orfanos and Joanlanne also picked up singles victories against Sacramento State, but the Hornets won the other four matches in straight sets to pull out the win.

Cam Kincaid, who missed the entire fall tournament schedule with a wrist injury and the first nine dual matches of the spring season, returned to the lineup on Friday at UC Davis, pairing up with Joanlanne at No. 3 doubles.

Those two players teamed up for a win on Saturday against Sacramento State.

"Cam and Nathalie played like they've been together for a year or two," said Ascher. "She's been out eight months, so there is some rust, but Cam is so good and so competitive that you wouldn't know it.

"You can't duplicate the energy and competitive drive that Cam brings. It's special."

After this weekend, fans will only have two other opportunities to see Montana at home. The Grizzlies will host Weber State at the Peak on Saturday, April 8, and Northern Arizona on Sunday, April 16.

Montana will be on the road the next two weekends, playing at Wyoming and Northern Colorado next week, at Portland State the following weekend.

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Players Mentioned

Nathalie Joanlanne

Cam Kincaid

Catherine Orfanos

Hannah Sulz

University of Montana Athletics