Saturday, February 1
Missoula, Mont.
9 AM
Montana
vs
Grand Canyon
Photo by: Derek Johnson
Griz host ‘Lopes in nonconference dual
1/29/2020 3:39:00 PM | Women's Tennis
The Montana women's tennis team returns to action on its home courts at the Peak Racquet Club in Missoula this weekend for a one-off dual match against Grand Canyon University, with start time set for 9 a.m. on Saturday.
After an opening weekend with two promising home matches against Utah and Minnesota in mid-January, the Griz (0-3) now turn their attention to the Antelopes (0-2) in Montana's only home match during the month of February.
Live scoring for Saturday's match can be found at GrizStats.com, and a live twitter feed can be found @MontanaGrizTen as well. Admission to the Peaks is free, and the match is open to the public.
The Grizzlies challenged themselves right out of the gates against the Utes and Gophers, hosting the Pac-12 and Big Ten opponents the first week back from winter vacation. The results from that jump in the deep end of the new season were mixed.
On the one hand, the Griz took three straight losses. On the other, Montana bounced back from a doubleheader against Utah on Friday to give the Gophers a serious run for their money on Saturday, forcing a tiebreaker to decide the doubles round and UM ace Julia Ronney taking an upset win on court one.
The takeaway? The Griz now know they compete with top-level competition and will get another crack at an upset on Saturday as they prepare to make a return to the Big Sky Championship Tournament.
"I think those matches showed we're able to beat anybody. Now we can take that on the court and be confident, play our game, and it will always end up being close," said freshman Olivia Oosterbaan.
"Then, as we go on this season, the results will turn our way, and that's exciting to see."
UM now prepares to take on a 'Lopes squad that finished second at the WAC championship last year, and is led by the league's reigning coach of the year in Gregory Prudhomme.
Oosterbaan, now three dual matches into her first year of college tennis, has been one of Montana's biggest contributors early this season, partnering with Ronney to make the pair that nearly won UM the doubles point against the Gophers, and falling in a three-set thriller on court two later that day.
After a successful fall tournament season, she now says the team aspect of the dual season is helping her find her footing quickly.
"I just got out there and enjoyed it," she added. "Having that team atmosphere is so different than just playing individually. Them just having your back and playing at home really helped, and I'm excited for the rest of the season."
Oosterbaan and the Griz will have their hands full with GCU, however. The 'Lopes return five All-WAC performers from last year's 10-win team that went 4-1 in conference play.
GCU won the doubles point last week in a 3-4 loss to BYU thanks in part to all-conference doubles selection Autum Prudhomme, and freshman Natasha Puehse and junior Ludovica Infantino each picked up singles wins as well.
After an early bye last week to get dialed in, Grizzly head coach Steve Ascher thinks his team is in the right frame of mind heading into the nonconference home showdown.
"I think we need just continue to do the right things at the right time," said Ascher. "I think getting out there, being aware of your game plan, then giving yourself the best shot at executing that game plan will help us."
After a near-miss against the Gophers, Oosterbaan thinks the doubles round will be especially important if Montana is to defend its home turf.
"I think we're really going to have to work on doubles. Getting that doubles point will be huge. Then in singles, just grinding it out. It will be nice to be at home and having that home advantage," she added.
"Everybody has been playing great, training hard, and we learned a lot from our last matches. So, I'm excited to see us compete and really get into it."
While in Missoula, Grand Canyon will also play a neutral court match against Montana State at the Peak, starting at 9 a.m. on Sunday.
The Griz will then play their next eight matches on the road, returning home again on March 6 against the University of Portland.
After an opening weekend with two promising home matches against Utah and Minnesota in mid-January, the Griz (0-3) now turn their attention to the Antelopes (0-2) in Montana's only home match during the month of February.
Live scoring for Saturday's match can be found at GrizStats.com, and a live twitter feed can be found @MontanaGrizTen as well. Admission to the Peaks is free, and the match is open to the public.
The Grizzlies challenged themselves right out of the gates against the Utes and Gophers, hosting the Pac-12 and Big Ten opponents the first week back from winter vacation. The results from that jump in the deep end of the new season were mixed.
On the one hand, the Griz took three straight losses. On the other, Montana bounced back from a doubleheader against Utah on Friday to give the Gophers a serious run for their money on Saturday, forcing a tiebreaker to decide the doubles round and UM ace Julia Ronney taking an upset win on court one.
The takeaway? The Griz now know they compete with top-level competition and will get another crack at an upset on Saturday as they prepare to make a return to the Big Sky Championship Tournament.
"I think those matches showed we're able to beat anybody. Now we can take that on the court and be confident, play our game, and it will always end up being close," said freshman Olivia Oosterbaan.
"Then, as we go on this season, the results will turn our way, and that's exciting to see."
UM now prepares to take on a 'Lopes squad that finished second at the WAC championship last year, and is led by the league's reigning coach of the year in Gregory Prudhomme.
Oosterbaan, now three dual matches into her first year of college tennis, has been one of Montana's biggest contributors early this season, partnering with Ronney to make the pair that nearly won UM the doubles point against the Gophers, and falling in a three-set thriller on court two later that day.
After a successful fall tournament season, she now says the team aspect of the dual season is helping her find her footing quickly.
"I just got out there and enjoyed it," she added. "Having that team atmosphere is so different than just playing individually. Them just having your back and playing at home really helped, and I'm excited for the rest of the season."
Oosterbaan and the Griz will have their hands full with GCU, however. The 'Lopes return five All-WAC performers from last year's 10-win team that went 4-1 in conference play.
GCU won the doubles point last week in a 3-4 loss to BYU thanks in part to all-conference doubles selection Autum Prudhomme, and freshman Natasha Puehse and junior Ludovica Infantino each picked up singles wins as well.
After an early bye last week to get dialed in, Grizzly head coach Steve Ascher thinks his team is in the right frame of mind heading into the nonconference home showdown.
"I think we need just continue to do the right things at the right time," said Ascher. "I think getting out there, being aware of your game plan, then giving yourself the best shot at executing that game plan will help us."
After a near-miss against the Gophers, Oosterbaan thinks the doubles round will be especially important if Montana is to defend its home turf.
"I think we're really going to have to work on doubles. Getting that doubles point will be huge. Then in singles, just grinding it out. It will be nice to be at home and having that home advantage," she added.
"Everybody has been playing great, training hard, and we learned a lot from our last matches. So, I'm excited to see us compete and really get into it."
While in Missoula, Grand Canyon will also play a neutral court match against Montana State at the Peak, starting at 9 a.m. on Sunday.
The Griz will then play their next eight matches on the road, returning home again on March 6 against the University of Portland.
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
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