Injury-depleted Griz battle in 3-4 loss

Tuesday, March 26

Davis, Calif.

NOON (MT)

Montana

UC Davis

3/26/2019 4:48:00 PM | Women's Tennis

Box Score PDF Box Score

By: Montana Sports Information

The Montana women's tennis team capped its spring break trip to California on Tuesday, dropping a nonconference match to the UC Davis Aggies, 3-4. It was UM's second-straight 3-4 loss following Sunday's thriller at Sacramento State that came down to the third set of the final match.

The Grizzlies fall to 3-12 on the season but remain in a strong position in the Big Sky standings at 3-1.

Despite not having the services of senior Nathalie Joanlanne due to injury, and losing sophomore Bianca Bostrom to injury in the doubles, Montana battled with five singles players for a promising result against the traditionally strong Aggies.

"The team competed well today. We're continuing to show improvement in outdoor conditions," said head coach Steve Ascher. "Julia Ronney absolutely crushed it all weekend, and it was great to see Claudia (Reguant) and Lidia (Dukic) pull out tough three-setters."

Ronney picked up her fifth singles win in six matches by demolishing the Aggie's Niki Pradeep 6-0, 6-1, on court one to go undefeated on the trip to her home state. The All-Big Sky sophomore is now 6-8 overall this spring, and by winning at Sac State on Sunday, remained at a perfect 4-0 in conference play.

Montana was unable to capture the magic it did at Sac State in the doubles round against the Aggies, falling on courts two and three to give the home team an early 1-0 lead, with Bostrom going out injured on court three. Doubles has been a sore spot for the Griz this season, with UM only winning two points to date.

In singles, Ronney helped get the Griz back on track with her win on court one.

Moving up to court three to provide injury cover, senior Lidia Dukic bounced back after a heartbreaking three-set loss in the decider against the Hornets to pick up a three-set win against the Aggies. Dukic dropped the first set 5-7 but rebounded to beat UDC's Shirley Hill 5-7, 6-4, 10-8 in a tiebreaker.

Freshman Claudia Reguant picked up the first regular season win of her Grizzly career as well, defeating Davis' Jess Walker 4-6, 6-3, 10-5 on court five.

UP NEXT: Montana now returns home for a decisive Big Sky Conference match against Southern Utah on Friday, March 29, starting at 10 a.m. at the Peak Racquet Club south of Missoula.

The Thunderbirds visit the Garden City currently ranked second in the Big Sky at 2-0, and at 9-5 overall, boasts wins over Louisiana Tech, Sacramento State, Quinnipiac, and Northern Colorado.

UC Davis 4, Montana 3
3/26/2019 at Davis, Calif. (UC Davis)

Singles Competition
1. Julia Ronney (UM) def. Niki Pradeep (UCD) 6-0, 6-1
2. Sara Tsukamoto (UCD) def. Lauren Dunlap (UM) 6-3, 6-0
3. Lidia Dukic (UM) def. Shirley Hill (UCD) 5-7, 6-4, 10-8
4. Kristina Breisacher (UCD) def. Alex Walker (UM) 6-3, 6-3
5. Claudia Reguant (UM) def. Jess Walker (UCD) 4-6, 6-3, 10-5
6. DNP

Doubles Competition
1. Ronney/Dunlap (UM) def. Bryant/Tsukamoto (UCD) 6-2
2. Pradeep/Hall (UCD) def. Dukic/Reguant (UM) 6-3
3. Breisacher/Walker (UCD) def. Bostom/Walker (UM) 6-4

Montana 3-12 (3-1 BSC)
Order of Finish: Doubles (1,3,2) Singles (1,2,4,3,5,DNP)