Friday, February 16
Spokane, Wash.
5 PM (MT)
Montana
at
Gonzaga
Women's tennis on the road for two
2/15/2018 3:49:00 PM | Women's Tennis
Riding a three-match win streak, the Montana women's tennis team travels west on I-90 this week to face Gonzaga in Spokane then south to Lewiston, Idaho to face Lewis-Clark State in a pair of nonconference matchups.
The newly-confident Griz (3-3) start the weekend trip against the Zags (4-2) at 5 p.m. (MT) on Friday at GU's Stevens Center. It's another opportunity for UM to test itself against one of the best programs in the region after hosting a powerful Washington State outfit to start the season.
Montana then heads across the Palouse to face the LC-State Warriors (1-4) for a one-off match that gets underway Saturday at 10 a.m. (MT) in Lewiston. The match was originally slated to be a doubleheader, but with the Big Sky Conference season around the corner Head Coach Steve Ascher has opted to rest his squad.
The Griz enter the weekend stretch buoyed by momentum built from sweeping Portland State 7-0 last week to earn the team's first conference win of the season. UM also swept a weekend slate against Montana State and Seattle the week before, equaling the number of wins they tallied all last season.
Led by a trio of freshmen who have each run through the last three matches undefeated in singles, Ascher believes his team is ahead of schedule in terms of development early in the 2018 season.
"The maturity of the freshmen and the leadership of the upperclassmen - everybody seems to be dialed in and getting better every day. I feel like we're way beyond mid-February where we are tennis-wise," said Ascher.
"When you're having success, that alarm clock goes off in the morning, and you're a little more excited to get out of bed and get back to your passion and get back to learning and growing. The validation is huge."
Bianca Bostrom, Eimear Maher, and Julia Ronney have each picked up wins over teams not named Iowa or Washington State, and have provided solid performances at the top and bottom of the Grizzly lineup.
Senior Cam Kincaid has also been a rock for the Griz, slotting in at either No. 1 or 2 in every match for UM so far and taking three-straight wins, including a three-set grinder over PSU's Alli Valk (2-6, 6-3, 10-6).
Catherine Orfanos, UM's other senior standout, has also solidified the middle of UM's lineup, running over Portland State's Ashley Knecht 6-0, 6-1.
Montana will need to need every ounce of confidence it can muster in Spokane, however, as the Zags enter the match with the No. 29 doubles pairing in the nation in Sophie Whittle and Garciela Rosas. On the singles court, Gonzaga's Nevada Apollo also started the season ranked nationally at No. 103.
The Zags currently sit third on the West Coast Conference table, just two spots below the No. 2 ranked Pepperdine Waves.
"We're looking for consistency of effort and performance," says Ascher. "Gonzaga is a good team and they carry a lot of confidence."
Gonzaga will live stream Friday's matches so fans around the world can tune in to watch. Links to the live stream and live stats can be found at GoZags.com.
Montana will face a different kind of opponent when it travels south to play NAIA LC-State on Saturday, taking the opportunity to get more early-season reps under the player's belts.
"You always know you're going to get a battle. They are well coached and they're going to compete hard," says Ascher of the Warriors. "There's no substitute for that competition. It prepares us so well for conference play and is great experience."
For Ascher, no matter this weekend's results, the Grizzlies' recent success and their and 1-0 conference record will go a long way toward putting the Griz in a position to return to the Big Sky championship tournament in April.
"It's good to get the wins early. The parity in the conference is tight. If you look anywhere from numbers three-through-twelve, we're all the same. NAU and Idaho have had some success, but everyone is similar. If we take care of things at home, that's huge, and the difference will be who can go on the road and get some wins," Ascher says.
LOOKING AHEAD
The Griz will face a key conference matchup in a week's time, traveling to Flagstaff to take on Northern Arizona, who was picked to finish second in the Big Sky preseason poll.
Montana will get another nonconference match in while in the Grand Canyon State, traveling to Phoenix to take on Ottawa University, a member of the National Christian College Athletic Association.
NOTES
Montana is undefeated on the road so far this season, with a win over MSU in Bozeman and a neutral court win over Seattle in Bozeman as well.
Junior Lidia Dukic continues her rehab from a wrist injury, hoping to return to action in the coming month.
The Griz split a pair of matches last season against the same teams they will face this week. UM defeated Lewis-Clark State 7-0 in January of 2017, but fell 0-7 to the Zags in Spokane in late February.
The last time UM won three-straight matches was back in 2016, when the Griz defeated Montana State, Lewis-Clark State and North Dakota in early season action in Missoula.
Montana's last victory over Gonzaga came in February of 2014, when UM went to Spokane and came away with a 4-3 win to cap a run of four-straight wins over the Zags.
The newly-confident Griz (3-3) start the weekend trip against the Zags (4-2) at 5 p.m. (MT) on Friday at GU's Stevens Center. It's another opportunity for UM to test itself against one of the best programs in the region after hosting a powerful Washington State outfit to start the season.
Montana then heads across the Palouse to face the LC-State Warriors (1-4) for a one-off match that gets underway Saturday at 10 a.m. (MT) in Lewiston. The match was originally slated to be a doubleheader, but with the Big Sky Conference season around the corner Head Coach Steve Ascher has opted to rest his squad.
The Griz enter the weekend stretch buoyed by momentum built from sweeping Portland State 7-0 last week to earn the team's first conference win of the season. UM also swept a weekend slate against Montana State and Seattle the week before, equaling the number of wins they tallied all last season.
Led by a trio of freshmen who have each run through the last three matches undefeated in singles, Ascher believes his team is ahead of schedule in terms of development early in the 2018 season.
"The maturity of the freshmen and the leadership of the upperclassmen - everybody seems to be dialed in and getting better every day. I feel like we're way beyond mid-February where we are tennis-wise," said Ascher.
"When you're having success, that alarm clock goes off in the morning, and you're a little more excited to get out of bed and get back to your passion and get back to learning and growing. The validation is huge."
Bianca Bostrom, Eimear Maher, and Julia Ronney have each picked up wins over teams not named Iowa or Washington State, and have provided solid performances at the top and bottom of the Grizzly lineup.
Senior Cam Kincaid has also been a rock for the Griz, slotting in at either No. 1 or 2 in every match for UM so far and taking three-straight wins, including a three-set grinder over PSU's Alli Valk (2-6, 6-3, 10-6).
Catherine Orfanos, UM's other senior standout, has also solidified the middle of UM's lineup, running over Portland State's Ashley Knecht 6-0, 6-1.
Montana will need to need every ounce of confidence it can muster in Spokane, however, as the Zags enter the match with the No. 29 doubles pairing in the nation in Sophie Whittle and Garciela Rosas. On the singles court, Gonzaga's Nevada Apollo also started the season ranked nationally at No. 103.
The Zags currently sit third on the West Coast Conference table, just two spots below the No. 2 ranked Pepperdine Waves.
"We're looking for consistency of effort and performance," says Ascher. "Gonzaga is a good team and they carry a lot of confidence."
Gonzaga will live stream Friday's matches so fans around the world can tune in to watch. Links to the live stream and live stats can be found at GoZags.com.
Montana will face a different kind of opponent when it travels south to play NAIA LC-State on Saturday, taking the opportunity to get more early-season reps under the player's belts.
"You always know you're going to get a battle. They are well coached and they're going to compete hard," says Ascher of the Warriors. "There's no substitute for that competition. It prepares us so well for conference play and is great experience."
For Ascher, no matter this weekend's results, the Grizzlies' recent success and their and 1-0 conference record will go a long way toward putting the Griz in a position to return to the Big Sky championship tournament in April.
"It's good to get the wins early. The parity in the conference is tight. If you look anywhere from numbers three-through-twelve, we're all the same. NAU and Idaho have had some success, but everyone is similar. If we take care of things at home, that's huge, and the difference will be who can go on the road and get some wins," Ascher says.
LOOKING AHEAD
The Griz will face a key conference matchup in a week's time, traveling to Flagstaff to take on Northern Arizona, who was picked to finish second in the Big Sky preseason poll.
Montana will get another nonconference match in while in the Grand Canyon State, traveling to Phoenix to take on Ottawa University, a member of the National Christian College Athletic Association.
NOTES
Montana is undefeated on the road so far this season, with a win over MSU in Bozeman and a neutral court win over Seattle in Bozeman as well.
Junior Lidia Dukic continues her rehab from a wrist injury, hoping to return to action in the coming month.
The Griz split a pair of matches last season against the same teams they will face this week. UM defeated Lewis-Clark State 7-0 in January of 2017, but fell 0-7 to the Zags in Spokane in late February.
The last time UM won three-straight matches was back in 2016, when the Griz defeated Montana State, Lewis-Clark State and North Dakota in early season action in Missoula.
Montana's last victory over Gonzaga came in February of 2014, when UM went to Spokane and came away with a 4-3 win to cap a run of four-straight wins over the Zags.
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
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