Saturday, February 10
Missoula, Mont.
9 AM
Montana
vs
Portland State
Griz look to keep momentum against Vikings
2/9/2018 6:45:00 PM | Women's Tennis
Fresh of a weekend sweep over Montana State and Seattle University, the Montana women's tennis team will get its first taste of Big Sky Conference action early this season, hosting Portland State for a one-off dual match.
The Griz and Vikings will get underway at 9 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 10, at the Peak Racquet Club south of Missoula on Blue Mountain Road.
It's the first home match for the Griz since hosting powerhouse programs Washington State and Iowa two weeks ago, and it's clear to fans that the experience of playing some of the best in the country has paid off.
Even though the season is young, the Griz are quietly becoming contenders in the league, knocking off the Bobcats, who were picked to finish third in the Big Sky preseason poll, 6-1 in Bozeman last week.
The young Montana squad then followed that upset victory up with another win, this time rallying from a 0-2 deficit to defeat Seattle University 5-2, pulling out three different three-set tiebreakers in the process.
"It was good to pull out those three-setters. Those matches were closer than the scores showed, but we were able to put it together," said freshman Julia Ronney, who is solidifying her spot at the No. 1 position.
Now the Griz (2-3) are brimming with confidence heading into an important conference match against PSU, trying to equal the number of wins UM totaled all last season.
"I think more than anything they help the team know we can win. Whatever will happen during the match will happen, but I think having those wins under our belt gave us a ton of confidence going into conference play," Ronney added.
The timing might be right for the Grizzlies to pull off their first Big Sky win this season as well.
Montana, a team on the rise ready to prove itself, hosts a Portland State squad picked to finish last in the league's preseason poll and comes to Missoula at 0-3 on the year with losses to UC Davis, South Dakota and the University of Portland.
During last year's 3-19 season, the Griz dropped a close 4-3 match to the Vikings on the road after UM lost a 3-1 lead. But this year's Grizzly lineup has been bolstered by an injection of talented freshmen, solidifying the bottom of the lineup.
Example one: freshman Eimear Maher, who was the only Griz to win a match against Iowa, and made it three-straight wins last weekend in Bozeman. Maher is expected to play at No. 6 in the singles order, making her the baseball equivalent of UM's closing pitcher.
Maher is not the only Grizzly freshman to see success so far this year. Ronney has been Montana's brightest star this season, winning the first-ever college tournament she played in during the fall schedule and going 2-0 in singles last week on the No. 1 court.
Along with Bianca Bostrom, Montana's trio of freshmen starters went undefeated in singles last week's wins over MSU and Seattle. Senior Cam Kincaid was also flawless on the singles court for UM last week, providing the steady hand of experience to a relatively young group.
After last week's sweep, UM now sits fourth on the Big Sky table, with only one other league match having been played to date.
Entrance to the Montana/Portland State match is free and open to the public.
The Griz and Vikings will get underway at 9 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 10, at the Peak Racquet Club south of Missoula on Blue Mountain Road.
It's the first home match for the Griz since hosting powerhouse programs Washington State and Iowa two weeks ago, and it's clear to fans that the experience of playing some of the best in the country has paid off.
Even though the season is young, the Griz are quietly becoming contenders in the league, knocking off the Bobcats, who were picked to finish third in the Big Sky preseason poll, 6-1 in Bozeman last week.
The young Montana squad then followed that upset victory up with another win, this time rallying from a 0-2 deficit to defeat Seattle University 5-2, pulling out three different three-set tiebreakers in the process.
"It was good to pull out those three-setters. Those matches were closer than the scores showed, but we were able to put it together," said freshman Julia Ronney, who is solidifying her spot at the No. 1 position.
Now the Griz (2-3) are brimming with confidence heading into an important conference match against PSU, trying to equal the number of wins UM totaled all last season.
"I think more than anything they help the team know we can win. Whatever will happen during the match will happen, but I think having those wins under our belt gave us a ton of confidence going into conference play," Ronney added.
The timing might be right for the Grizzlies to pull off their first Big Sky win this season as well.
Montana, a team on the rise ready to prove itself, hosts a Portland State squad picked to finish last in the league's preseason poll and comes to Missoula at 0-3 on the year with losses to UC Davis, South Dakota and the University of Portland.
During last year's 3-19 season, the Griz dropped a close 4-3 match to the Vikings on the road after UM lost a 3-1 lead. But this year's Grizzly lineup has been bolstered by an injection of talented freshmen, solidifying the bottom of the lineup.
Example one: freshman Eimear Maher, who was the only Griz to win a match against Iowa, and made it three-straight wins last weekend in Bozeman. Maher is expected to play at No. 6 in the singles order, making her the baseball equivalent of UM's closing pitcher.
Maher is not the only Grizzly freshman to see success so far this year. Ronney has been Montana's brightest star this season, winning the first-ever college tournament she played in during the fall schedule and going 2-0 in singles last week on the No. 1 court.
Along with Bianca Bostrom, Montana's trio of freshmen starters went undefeated in singles last week's wins over MSU and Seattle. Senior Cam Kincaid was also flawless on the singles court for UM last week, providing the steady hand of experience to a relatively young group.
After last week's sweep, UM now sits fourth on the Big Sky table, with only one other league match having been played to date.
Entrance to the Montana/Portland State match is free and open to the public.
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
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