Griz open spring break in California

The Montana women's tennis team returns to the road this week for a spring break trip to California, looking to extend its three-match Big Sky win streak with a pair of outings in the Golden State.

The Griz (3-10, 3-0 BSC) head to the state capital on Sunday, March 24, to take on a tough Sacramento State squad that sits at 1-2 in Big Sky play, but is coming off a big home win over Northern Arizona (4-3) last week.

Montana then caps the trip with a nonconference match at UC Davis (3-9, 2-3 Big West) on Tuesday, March 26. The Griz will cap spring break at home with a conference match against Southern Utah in Missoula on March 30.

With the most challenging nonconference schedule in program history largely behind them, the Griz are preparing to make a run at the Big Sky championship tourney in a little over a month.

Needing a top-six finish on the league table to qualify, Montana's 3-0 start with three home matches left on the schedule positions them to advance, but the team knows there is more work to be done.

"It's good to be 3-0, and it's good to come through a couple of really good tests with a 4-3 win," said head coach Steve Ascher. "We still have that drive to want to get better, and I think that's the key. We're really diving into the day-to-day."

UM's three-straight wins weren't just a walk in the park, either. The Griz dropped the doubles point but came from behind to defeat both Idaho State and Northern Colorado 4-3. Getting those wins required some grit and perseverance, qualities Ascher says have been gained by running a gauntlet of a nonconference schedule.

"We've been playing good competition, and that doesn't let you off the hook," said Ascher. "No matter how the rest of the season plays out, we've gained by playing better competition."

Still early in the league calendar, the final Big Sky standings remain a question mark with several teams making themselves known.

Sacramento State picked up a win over preseason favorites NAU last week but dropped a 4-3 match to Weber State, who the Griz beat in Ogden last season, the week previous. Southern Utah also went into Sacramento and picked up a 4-3 win over the Hornets.

With Montana sitting in second, all three teams currently sit below the Griz on the league table but were picked to finish ahead of UM on the preseason poll. Luckily for the Griz, Southern Utah and Weber State are each scheduled to pay a visit to Missoula in coming weeks.

"I think everything is going to be tight," said Ascher. "There are a lot of teams that could determine how it plays out. It's going to get really fun and interesting from here out."

GRIZ TRACKS: Court-one stalwart Julia Ronney picked up her team-best fourth win of the spring season against Northern Colorado to move to 4-8 on the year. Ronney is the only Grizzly to remain perfect in Big Sky Conference play at 3-0 as well. The team has fared how Ronney has fared as well, with the Griz going 3-1 in each of her four victories.

Freshman Alex Walker bounced back from a tough three-set marathon loss against Idaho State with a match-clinching victory against Northern Colorado's Natalie Stanton (7-5, 6-2).

Fellow Freshman Lauren Dunlap improved her singles record to 3-8 with a win over Northern Colorado, the second-best winning percentage on the team. Senior Lidia Dukic also has three wins to her name this season but has one extra loss at 3-9.

Nathalie Joanlanne picked up her second-straight Big Sky win against UNC. The senior is one of four Grizzlies with a 2-1 conference singles record, the fourth being sophomore Bianca Bostrom.

UP NEXT: The Griz return home for a key Big Sky matchup against the upstart Southern Utah Thunderbirds whose Daniela Cozzi picked up the league's Player of the Week honor after going 6-0 last week. UM and SUU will face each other on Saturday, March 30, at the Peak Racquet Club, with serves going up at 9 a.m.

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Players Mentioned

Bianca Bostrom

Lidia Dukic

Lauren Dunlap

Nathalie Joanlanne

Julia Ronney

Alex Walker

University of Montana Athletics