Pilots fly past Griz

Friday, March 2

Missoula, Mont.

1 PM

Montana

Portland

3/2/2018 9:05:00 PM | Women's Tennis

Box Score

By: Montana Sports Information

It wasn't the result they were looking for, but the Montana women's tennis team drew plenty of positives out of a 5-2 loss to the Portland Pilots in Missoula on Friday.

The Pilots, a member of the competitive West Coast Conference, built momentum with a tight win in the doubles round before holding off a late charge by the Griz in the singles to drop UM to 5-6 (1-1 BSC) on the season.

With the bulk of the Big Sky season right around the corner and the ever-important Brawl of the Wild on deck for Sunday, Grizzly Head Coach Steve Ascher liked the grit he saw from his squad against the Pilots.

"That was a good UP team. I thought we competed well. Overall it was a really competitive college match," said Ascher.

"I think our serving was a little better today, and we played better in bigger points, but overall that was a big step in the right direction for us."

(3/2/2018) WTEN: vs. Portland 3.2.18

Montana started the match with a near-upset in the doubles, pushing the matches on courts one and two to break points.

Already 1-0 after a loss on court three, senior Cam Kincaid and freshman Bianca Bostrom built a 5-3 lead early, only to have that lead erased by UP to give the visitors 1-0 overall advantage with the clinch.

In the singles round, Nathalie Joanlanne powered her way to her sixth-straight win on court three with a 7-5, 6-2 win over Raphaelle Leblanc.

Joanlanne's win gave the Griz a glimmer of hope in the match, cutting the Pilot lead to 3-1 while Kincaid was making a third-set push over on court two.

Kincaid took the first set 6-3 against Radina Dimitrova but wound up dropping the match with a pair of 6-2 decisions for the visitor. The win for UP on court two sealed the victory for the Pilots, putting them up for good 4-2.

Despite the match already being won by Portland, Bostrom went out and battled her way back from a 1-6 loss in the first set to take the second 6-1 and finished off with a 10-7 win in the tiebreaker.

The freshman from Sweden has also been on a roll for Montana, winning six of her last eight matches.

The Griz now turn their full attention to Montana State in the annual Brawl of the Wild match that could have big implications on Big Sky tournament seeding.

Thought the season is still young, Montana currently sits eighth on the Big Sky table, while the Bobcats come to Missoula sitting in sixth. Come April, only the top six teams will advance on to the Big Sky Championship tournament.

The Griz will have history on their side when the first serve goes up against MSU on Sunday, having already beaten the Cats once this season, 6-1 in Bozeman. The Brawl of the Wild match gets underway at 9 a.m. and admission is free of charge.

Portland 5, Montana 2
Mar 02, 2018 at Missoula, Mont. (Peak Racquet Club)

Singles competition
1. LUKIC, Jelena (POR) def. RONNEY, Julia (UM) 6-4, 6-3
2. DIMITROVA, Radina (POR) def. KINCAID, Cam (UM) 3-6, 6-2, 6-2
3. JOANLANNE, Nathalie (UM) def. LEBLANC, Raphaelle (POR) 7-5, 6-2
4. RAMALLE, Loues (POR) def. DUKIC, Lidia (UM) 6-0, 6-0
5. SOARES, Emily (POR) def. ORFANOS, Catherine (UM) 6-2, 7-6 (7-4)
6. BOSTROM, Bianca (UM) def. OBERG, Anna (POR) 1-6, 6-1, 1-0 (10-7)

Doubles competition
1. OBERG, Anna/LUKIC, Jelena (POR) def. KINCAID, Cam/BOSTROM, Bianca (UM) 7-6 (7-5)
2. RONNEY, Julia/JOANLANNE, Nathalie (UM) vs. LEBLANC, Raphaelle/RAMALLE, Loues (POR) 5-6, unfinished
3. DIMITROVA, Radina/SOARES, Emily (POR) def. ORFANOS, Catherine/MAHER, Eimear (UM) 6-3

Match Notes
Portland 2-6 (0-1 WCC)
Montana 5-6 (1-1 BSC)
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1); Singles (4,1,3,2,6,5)
Official: Delman, Schwartz T-3:50 A-19