Friday, February 23
Flagstaff, Ariz.
2 PM
Montana
at
Northern Arizona
Griz head to desert looking to warm up
2/22/2018 2:21:00 PM | Women's Tennis
The Montana women's tennis team sits at 4-4 on the season with three of the toughest nonconference matches they will play all year behind them, and a Big Sky Conference win over Portland State in their back pocket.
Now the team heads full steam into league play with another stiff challenge as the Griz travel to Flagstaff to take on the NAU Lumberjacks (4-2), who were picked to finish second in the Big Sky's preseason poll.
While in the Grand Canyon State, the Griz will also travel to Phoenix to face off against the Ottawa Spirit (1-1), an NCCAA program at Ottawa University of Arizona, an extension of the private school's main campus in Ottawa, Kansas.
Montana faces the 'Jacks at 2 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 23 at the NAU Tennis Center, then travels to play Ottawa the following morning at 11 a.m. at the Surprise Tennis and Racquet Complex.
At 1-0 in conference play, Montana enters the match with NAU sitting second on the Big Sky table early in the season. It will be tough sledding for the Griz in Flagstaff, however, facing a Lumberjacks squad that features the doubles pairing of Hanneke Lodewijks and Chiara Tomasetti, who started the year ranked as the No. 45 pair in the nation.
"They are a good team, but we're not really thinking about that," said UM Head Coach Steve Ascher. "It will be a challenging experience playing at 7,000 feet, but I'm excited about where we're at right now."
And where is Montana at right now? For starters, they are finally nearing full strength.
Montana has been battling injuries and illness early this season and has been forced to shuffle the lineup in nearly every match.
Freshman standout Julia Ronney, who has led off on court one four times this year, has not played a singles match since Feb. 3 against Seattle and sat out the entire match against Lewis-Clark State last week as she rests a pulled muscle.
Another one of Montana's freshman stars Eimear Maher has also been fighting off sickness, and junior Lidia Dukic has been recovering from a wrist injury since the early fall.
Good news for the Griz: all three are on the road to recovery, with Dukic the only question mark for this weekend. Meaning Montana should have its most complete line up since sweeping Montana State and Seattle in early February, and practices have reflected it.
"Everyone is playing good. Spirit is good, energy is good, and people are getting healthy again. We haven't even played with a full squad yet this year. So, I think there is a lot of good stuff on the horizon," said Ascher.
Freshmen Bianca Bostrom and Maher have won four of their last five singles matches, with the fifth remaining unfinished for both against Gonzaga.
When match against the Bulldogs was called at clinch, Bostrom was making a push in the second set, tied 3-3 on court four with Domonique Garley. In three of those four wins, she's combined to beat her opponents by a score of 36-5, each in straight sets. The Griz are 4-0 this season when Bostrom wins her singles match, speaking to the importance of a strong presence in the bottom half of the lineup.
Maher, the only Griz to pick up a win over Iowa, has also mowed over her opponents, all while battling a sickness that kept her off the court against Portland State.
Cam Kincaid has proven to be Montana's most versatile player so far this season, leading the Griz on both court one and two. The senior from Portland is also 4-1 over her last five singles matches, showing grit with a pair of third-set tiebreaker wins.
Sophomore Milica Panic saw her first singles action of the season last week, splitting decision against Gonzaga and LC-State. In her win over the Warriors, Panic swept Judy Boozer 6-0, 6-2 for her first win of the year. With her partner Nathalie Joanlanne, she also picked up her first doubles win as well, a 6-0 sweep of LC-State's Roux/Boozer pair.
After this week's trip to the desert, the Griz return home for two-straight weeks of action on their home courts, hosting the University of Portland on March 2, followed by the Brawl of the Wild match against Montana State on March 4. North Dakota and Sacramento State complete the homestand the following week.
Now the team heads full steam into league play with another stiff challenge as the Griz travel to Flagstaff to take on the NAU Lumberjacks (4-2), who were picked to finish second in the Big Sky's preseason poll.
While in the Grand Canyon State, the Griz will also travel to Phoenix to face off against the Ottawa Spirit (1-1), an NCCAA program at Ottawa University of Arizona, an extension of the private school's main campus in Ottawa, Kansas.
Montana faces the 'Jacks at 2 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 23 at the NAU Tennis Center, then travels to play Ottawa the following morning at 11 a.m. at the Surprise Tennis and Racquet Complex.
At 1-0 in conference play, Montana enters the match with NAU sitting second on the Big Sky table early in the season. It will be tough sledding for the Griz in Flagstaff, however, facing a Lumberjacks squad that features the doubles pairing of Hanneke Lodewijks and Chiara Tomasetti, who started the year ranked as the No. 45 pair in the nation.
"They are a good team, but we're not really thinking about that," said UM Head Coach Steve Ascher. "It will be a challenging experience playing at 7,000 feet, but I'm excited about where we're at right now."
And where is Montana at right now? For starters, they are finally nearing full strength.
Montana has been battling injuries and illness early this season and has been forced to shuffle the lineup in nearly every match.
Freshman standout Julia Ronney, who has led off on court one four times this year, has not played a singles match since Feb. 3 against Seattle and sat out the entire match against Lewis-Clark State last week as she rests a pulled muscle.
Another one of Montana's freshman stars Eimear Maher has also been fighting off sickness, and junior Lidia Dukic has been recovering from a wrist injury since the early fall.
Good news for the Griz: all three are on the road to recovery, with Dukic the only question mark for this weekend. Meaning Montana should have its most complete line up since sweeping Montana State and Seattle in early February, and practices have reflected it.
"Everyone is playing good. Spirit is good, energy is good, and people are getting healthy again. We haven't even played with a full squad yet this year. So, I think there is a lot of good stuff on the horizon," said Ascher.
Freshmen Bianca Bostrom and Maher have won four of their last five singles matches, with the fifth remaining unfinished for both against Gonzaga.
When match against the Bulldogs was called at clinch, Bostrom was making a push in the second set, tied 3-3 on court four with Domonique Garley. In three of those four wins, she's combined to beat her opponents by a score of 36-5, each in straight sets. The Griz are 4-0 this season when Bostrom wins her singles match, speaking to the importance of a strong presence in the bottom half of the lineup.
Maher, the only Griz to pick up a win over Iowa, has also mowed over her opponents, all while battling a sickness that kept her off the court against Portland State.
Cam Kincaid has proven to be Montana's most versatile player so far this season, leading the Griz on both court one and two. The senior from Portland is also 4-1 over her last five singles matches, showing grit with a pair of third-set tiebreaker wins.
Sophomore Milica Panic saw her first singles action of the season last week, splitting decision against Gonzaga and LC-State. In her win over the Warriors, Panic swept Judy Boozer 6-0, 6-2 for her first win of the year. With her partner Nathalie Joanlanne, she also picked up her first doubles win as well, a 6-0 sweep of LC-State's Roux/Boozer pair.
After this week's trip to the desert, the Griz return home for two-straight weeks of action on their home courts, hosting the University of Portland on March 2, followed by the Brawl of the Wild match against Montana State on March 4. North Dakota and Sacramento State complete the homestand the following week.
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
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