Griz look to start a win streak at UNC

A bomb cyclone has hit the Montana women's tennis team.

Thousands of flights in and out of Denver International Airport were canceled this week due to a storm that has been dubbed a "bomb cyclone" by meteorologists. The Grizzlies' flight was one of them.

The delay has forced a change of plans for a weekend trip to the Front Range that was supposed to see UM pick up three matches. One, an important Big Sky tie at Northern Colorado on Friday. The other two a pair of nonconference tune-ups against Wyoming and Colorado State.

The Griz will now trim the schedule down to just two matches, with Montana facing the Cowboys as scheduled on Saturday, March 16, at 10 a.m. Instead of playing CSU on Sunday, the Griz will now cap the weekend against UNC on Sunday, March 17, at 10 a.m. in Greeley. The match against the Rams has been canceled.

Despite the changed plans, the Griz (2-9, 2-0 BSC) head south with a chance to build a Big Sky win streak after picking up their second-straight league victory last week in a 4-3 thriller over Idaho State.

The win gave the Griz a needed boost as they power through the most challenging nonconference schedule in team history.

"That was a good win. It's just fun to see them experience that because we haven't won a lot this season. Now when we hit the court there's a little more energy, and we're a little more upbeat," said head coach Steve Ascher.

With the meat of the league season right around the corner, sophomore standout Julia Ronney thinks the win over ISU might be the catalyst that helps Montana return to the league tournament for the first time since 2015.

"It felt very good, especially because we lost to them last year in a really close match. I think that was definitely one of the matches that took us away from going to conference," said Ronney. "I think having that confidence now is going to be a really good thing for us."

With so many tough matches under their belts, Ascher's strategy of "playing up" has worked in the Grizzlies' favor so far this season, despite going winless in out-of-conference action.

Montana now takes on Northern Colorado Sunday with a chance to open league play at 3-0 for the first time since 2015 as well.

"I think they've pushed through it well. I think that after going through that many losses and knowing you can win is a really good feeling," said Ascher. "I feel like we're in a good spot. We know what we do, we know our rhythm and our approach to each day, and we are building consistency, and that's what we're looking for."

COVERAGE: Wyoming will provide live scoring for the match in Laramie. Links can be found at gogriz.com. Northern Colorado will not have live coverage.

QUICK HITS: Montana's win over Idaho State was the first for the Griz this season after dropping the doubles point to open the match.

For the time being, Montana has moved into second place on the Big Sky table with a yet undefeated 2-0 record in league play. Idaho is off to a 4-0 start in conference play, while Southern Utah and Northern Arizona sit at 1-0 as the only other teams with no losses to date.

Senior Nathalie Joanlanne kicked the monkey off her back against Idaho State, picking up her first win of the season, a 6-3, 7-5 victory on court four.

Ronney and Dukic lead Montana in victories this season with three each, and each picking up a win over a Pac-12 opponent.

Dukic earned Montana's nomination for Big Sky Player of the Week after playing the hero for UM for the first time in her career, clinching the match with a three-set win on court five over ISU's Angela Walker.

A LOOK AT THE BEARS: Northern Colorado enters the match Sunday with a 1-3 record in league play (6-7 overall) after being picked to finish tenth in the Big Sky preseason poll.

UNC has shown consistent improvement over its last five matches, however. The Bears picked up individual wins in a 1-6 loss to Idaho and a 2-5 loss to Northern Arizona, two of the perennial powers in Big Sky tennis. They followed that up with a 5-2 win over Montana State in Greeley a 4-3 win over Oral Roberts and a 6-1 win over Wheaton College as well.

A LOOK AT THE COWBOYS: While WYO hasn't played a Mountain West match as of yet, the Cowboys (9-5, 0-0 MW) have already turned heads with some impressive wins at altitude in Laramie (7,165 ft).

Wyoming enters the match on a five-match win streak, including home wins over UTEP, New Mexico State and Northern Arizona, plus a pair of Big Sky wins over Eastern Washington and Montana State, having only dropped four individual points during that streak.

UP NEXT: Montana returns to conference play over spring break with a key match at Sacramento State on March 24 that could have major implications come Big Sky tournament time. The Griz will also face UC Davis while in California before returning home for a match against Southern Utah on March 30.

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Players Mentioned

Nathalie Joanlanne

Julia Ronney

University of Montana Athletics