Friday, October 4
Pullman, Wash.
All Day
Montana
at
Washington State Invitational
Griz make a splash at Cougar Classic
10/7/2019 4:53:00 PM | Women's Tennis
The Montana women's tennis team continued its solid start to the fall tournament season over the weekend, with two players advancing to the semifinals in their respective singles brackets and the team going three-for-three in doubles on the final day of Washington-State's Cougar Classic.
"If you look at this weekend in relation to the tournament at Idaho State, it's heads above where we were," said head coach Steve Ascher. "They're learning to dig deeper and be invested in it more on every point."
In her first action of the fall, first-team All-Big Sky returner Julia Ronney made waves in Pullman, defeating Gonzaga's Hartuna Tsuruta in come-from-behind fashion (3-6, 6-0, 6-4), and Utah State's Lucy Octave (6-3, 7-6(4)) to advance to the semifinal of the Crimson main draw.
Ronney's run came to a close against Washington State's Hikaru Sato, the eventual tournament champion, falling 2-6, 1-6 in the semi.
"She's been practicing well, I feel like she's been dialed in and she loves competition, so it didn't surprise me," said Ascher. "She's showing a lot of leadership, and she wants it as much for her team as she wants it for herself, and you can see that more now, which is awesome."
Freshman Maria Goheen, playing in just her second event as a Grizzly, advanced to the semifinal of the Gray singles draw, picking up wins Boise State's Ana Conde Vendrell (6-1, 6-1) and Eastern Washington's Louise Waite (7‐6 (4), 6‐2).
"I think she could have played in the main draw, to be honest," Ascher added. "She's got a long way to go, but her level of competitiveness is awesome."
After struggling through early doubles rounds, Montana righted the ship on Sunday, with all three UM pairings picking up wins to finish the tournament strong.
The junior/freshman pairing of Bianca Bostrom and Goheen proved strong, beating Boise State's Moortgat/Timm pair 7-6 (4) in Sunday's extra matches, and Ronney and sophomore Lauren Dunlap defeated Utah State's Jones/Lavatai pair in a breaker by the same score. Sophomores Claudia Reguant and Alex Walker also picked up a win over Gonzaga's Day/Frampton pair, 6-4, to close out the tourney.
"It's cool to see when you're talking about concepts in practice and then they go out and do it," said Ascher. "Talk is talk, but they were able to walk the walk."
Montana returns to action at the end of the month as the team heads to Vegas to compete in the ITA Mountain Region tournament, Oct. 4-6.
"If you look at this weekend in relation to the tournament at Idaho State, it's heads above where we were," said head coach Steve Ascher. "They're learning to dig deeper and be invested in it more on every point."
In her first action of the fall, first-team All-Big Sky returner Julia Ronney made waves in Pullman, defeating Gonzaga's Hartuna Tsuruta in come-from-behind fashion (3-6, 6-0, 6-4), and Utah State's Lucy Octave (6-3, 7-6(4)) to advance to the semifinal of the Crimson main draw.
Ronney's run came to a close against Washington State's Hikaru Sato, the eventual tournament champion, falling 2-6, 1-6 in the semi.
"She's been practicing well, I feel like she's been dialed in and she loves competition, so it didn't surprise me," said Ascher. "She's showing a lot of leadership, and she wants it as much for her team as she wants it for herself, and you can see that more now, which is awesome."
Freshman Maria Goheen, playing in just her second event as a Grizzly, advanced to the semifinal of the Gray singles draw, picking up wins Boise State's Ana Conde Vendrell (6-1, 6-1) and Eastern Washington's Louise Waite (7‐6 (4), 6‐2).
"I think she could have played in the main draw, to be honest," Ascher added. "She's got a long way to go, but her level of competitiveness is awesome."
After struggling through early doubles rounds, Montana righted the ship on Sunday, with all three UM pairings picking up wins to finish the tournament strong.
The junior/freshman pairing of Bianca Bostrom and Goheen proved strong, beating Boise State's Moortgat/Timm pair 7-6 (4) in Sunday's extra matches, and Ronney and sophomore Lauren Dunlap defeated Utah State's Jones/Lavatai pair in a breaker by the same score. Sophomores Claudia Reguant and Alex Walker also picked up a win over Gonzaga's Day/Frampton pair, 6-4, to close out the tourney.
"It's cool to see when you're talking about concepts in practice and then they go out and do it," said Ascher. "Talk is talk, but they were able to walk the walk."
Montana returns to action at the end of the month as the team heads to Vegas to compete in the ITA Mountain Region tournament, Oct. 4-6.
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
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