Montana looking to move to 2-0 in Big Sky play hosting Bengals

In mid-January, the Montana women's tennis team was standing in front of a long tunnel that was the most difficult nonconference schedule in program history.

This weekend, the Griz see the light at the end of that tunnel as they return to conference play looking to build off the gains made against a slate of opponents that has included three top 50 teams and host of top-100 players.

Montana (1-9, 1-0 Big Sky) takes the court on Saturday, March 9, for a one-off match against Idaho State (4-5, 1-2 Big Sky) at the Peak Racquet Club, with first serves going up at 8 a.m.

The Griz/Bengals matchup presents a series of tasty storylines as Montana looks to improve to 2-0 in league play after beating Portland State three weeks ago, including avenging a heartbreaking come-from-behind loss last season in Pocatello.

But for head coach Steve Ascher none of that matters. All he's looking for is seeing that constant improvement he's been preaching as the Griz worked their way through the nonconference schedule.

"We're excited to get the conference season going and get to playing every weekend. We have been working smart and are ready to take the court Saturday," said Ascher.

A GLIMPSE AT THE GRIZ

A least one Grizzly will have the ultimate familiarity with Idaho State when the Bengals come to town this week. Montana freshman Alex Walker will square off against her sister Angela, a junior on the ISU squad, for the first time as college athletes. The opposing coaches will decide on match day if the two will play against one another, but you can be sure the sister's teammates will be playing for a little something extra if not.

Montana enters the match at 0-3 on home soil this year, with the only three losses coming against nationally-ranked Washington State and the Big Ten's Michigan State Spartans to open the season.

The Griz will be chomping at the bit to get out on the courts again, having only played one match since defeating Portland State on Feb. 17. That one match was a big one, however, with UM taking on the No. 46 Tulsa Golden Hurricane in a neutral site dual in Bozeman.

Julia Ronney, Montana's all-conference mainstay on court one, returns to the lineup this week after sitting out the Tulsa match with a dose of the flu.

In Ronney's absence, freshman Lauren Dunlap jumped onto court one for just the second time this season and took on No. 87 ranked Martha Matoula in a competitive match.

Ronney is just one of two Grizzlies to pick up wins over Pac-12 opponents this season, getting a three-set win over Colorado's number one. Senior Lidia Dukic also picked up a win over her opponent from Colorado on court five.

Dunlap entered the match against Matoula having gone undefeated in the previous four matches, and swept the previous weekend's matches against Portland and Portland State.

SCOUTING THE BENGALS

Montana traveled to Pocatello in 2018 fresh off an upset of Weber State and looked to keep the momentum going as they built a 3-1 lead over the Bengals. The lead would not last, however, as Griz dropped the final two matches, with the last hanging on a third set tiebreaker.

Idaho State returns all four of the players that picked up wins over Montana last year as well, with Grizzly seniors Lidia Dukic and Nathalie Joanlanne seeking redemption against Walker and Louise-Mare Botes.

ISU comes to Missoula with a handful of wins over lower-division teams, but also has a big feather in their cap with a 4-3 win over Utah State. In league play, the Bengals have already dropped a 1-6 match to league-leading Idaho but rebounded with a 5-2 win over Portland State margin of victory the Griz beat the Vikings.

LOOKING AHEAD

After this week's match against Idaho State, UM turns its attention to Northern Colorado on March 15 in Greeley for their third Big Sky matchup.

Following that, the Griz will play four more nonconference matches in the remaining twelve-match schedule, staying on the Front Range to play Colorado State and Wyoming before facing UC Davis and Lewis-Clark State later in the month.

Montana looking to move to 2-0 in Big Sky play hosting Bengals

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Players Mentioned

Lidia Dukic

Lauren Dunlap

Nathalie Joanlanne

Julia Ronney

Alex Walker

University of Montana Athletics