Saturday, March 9
Missoula, Mont.
8 AM
Montana
4
vs
3
Idaho State
Griz outlast Idaho State in thriller
3/9/2019 3:02:00 PM | Women's Tennis
In its first home match in almost eight weeks the Montana women's team ground out a thrilling 4-3 Big Sky Conference win over Idaho State on Saturday in a match that lasted nearly five hours and wasn't decided until the third set of the final match.
After Montana bounced back to take a 3-2 lead following a loss in the doubles round, the Bengals' Megan Poe picked up a three-set win on court six over UM Freshman Alex Walker to tie the match at three.
With the result hanging in the balance, Montana senior Lidia Dukic was the hero, avenging a 2018 loss to ISU's Angela Walker with 7-6 (7-3), 2-6, 6-2 marathon win over Walker to seal the victory for the Griz.
"That's the first time she's been put in that situation, and for her to come out victorious, it's awesome for her individually and us as a team," said head coach Steve Ascher.
"The win was big for the team and heading into conference play, it couldn't have come at a better time."
With the win, Montana moves to 2-9 on the season, but more importantly improves to 2-0 in conference play and fills the coffers with confidence with the bulk of the league schedule around the corner. Idaho State meanwhile falls to 4-4 and 1-3 in Big Sky play with a month and half remaining until the league tournament.
The Grizzlies started behind the eight ball early on, dropping tight matches on courts two and three in the doubles round to give the Bengals a 1-0 advantage.
Montana bounced back quickly in the singles round, when All-Big Sky performer Julia Ronney battled her way past ISUs Hristina Cvetkovic 7-5, 6-1 to tie the match at one.
ISU took a brief 2-1 lead with a win on court two, over UM freshman Lauren Dunlap, dealing her just her second loss in the past five matches.
The back-and-forth continued though when senior Nathalie Joanlanne picked up a clutch 6-3, 7-5 win on court four that changed the momentum in the room, and gave the rest of the Grizzlies in action the gas needed to finsish the match.
After trailing for their first time in the day, Idaho State rallied to tie it back up at 3-3 when Poe defeated Walker in a long-fought and closely contested battle (4-6, 6-3, 7-5).
With the match tied up at three, Dukic put the team on her back and closed out her Idaho State counterpart in three sets to give the Grizzlies their second Big Sky Conference win of the season.
"It's such a special feeling. That was my first time with a clinch at three-all. I was really emotional and just had tears of joy. It was special to share that with my teammates," said Dukic.
Montana now has the opportunity to move to 3-0 in league play when it travels to the Front Range to take on Northern Colorado next week.
After Montana bounced back to take a 3-2 lead following a loss in the doubles round, the Bengals' Megan Poe picked up a three-set win on court six over UM Freshman Alex Walker to tie the match at three.
With the result hanging in the balance, Montana senior Lidia Dukic was the hero, avenging a 2018 loss to ISU's Angela Walker with 7-6 (7-3), 2-6, 6-2 marathon win over Walker to seal the victory for the Griz.
"That's the first time she's been put in that situation, and for her to come out victorious, it's awesome for her individually and us as a team," said head coach Steve Ascher.
"The win was big for the team and heading into conference play, it couldn't have come at a better time."
Griz win!
— Montana Griz Tennis 🎾 (@MontanaGrizTEN) March 9, 2019
A huge match point for senior Lidia Dukic to give #GrizTennis the win over ISU!#GoGriz #BigSkyTennis pic.twitter.com/bYFOvtrOnD
With the win, Montana moves to 2-9 on the season, but more importantly improves to 2-0 in conference play and fills the coffers with confidence with the bulk of the league schedule around the corner. Idaho State meanwhile falls to 4-4 and 1-3 in Big Sky play with a month and half remaining until the league tournament.
The Grizzlies started behind the eight ball early on, dropping tight matches on courts two and three in the doubles round to give the Bengals a 1-0 advantage.
Montana bounced back quickly in the singles round, when All-Big Sky performer Julia Ronney battled her way past ISUs Hristina Cvetkovic 7-5, 6-1 to tie the match at one.
ISU took a brief 2-1 lead with a win on court two, over UM freshman Lauren Dunlap, dealing her just her second loss in the past five matches.
The back-and-forth continued though when senior Nathalie Joanlanne picked up a clutch 6-3, 7-5 win on court four that changed the momentum in the room, and gave the rest of the Grizzlies in action the gas needed to finsish the match.
After trailing for their first time in the day, Idaho State rallied to tie it back up at 3-3 when Poe defeated Walker in a long-fought and closely contested battle (4-6, 6-3, 7-5).
With the match tied up at three, Dukic put the team on her back and closed out her Idaho State counterpart in three sets to give the Grizzlies their second Big Sky Conference win of the season.
"It's such a special feeling. That was my first time with a clinch at three-all. I was really emotional and just had tears of joy. It was special to share that with my teammates," said Dukic.
Montana now has the opportunity to move to 3-0 in league play when it travels to the Front Range to take on Northern Colorado next week.
Today's #GrizTennis hero Lidia Dukic breaks down her marathon three set clincher that gave UM a 4-3 victory over ISU!#GoGriz pic.twitter.com/wJtRrEn17x
— Montana Griz Tennis 🎾 (@MontanaGrizTEN) March 9, 2019
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
3,2,1
#1 Singles Match
12
CVETKOVIC, Hristina / 0 [ISU]
51
76
#2 Singles Match
12
BOTES, Louise-Mare / 0 [ISU]
66
12
#3 Singles Match
123
COBURN, Melissa / 0 [ISU]
162
646
#4 Singles Match
12
ARKHIPOV, Alexandra / 0 [ISU]
35
67
#5 Singles Match
123
WALKER, Angela / 0 [ISU]
662
726
#6 Singles Match
123
POE, Megan / 0 [ISU]
467
635
Order of Finish:
1,2,4,3,6,5
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
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