Montana looking for another upset at Denver

Ask any competitive tennis player, and they'll tell you that playing at altitude is a tall task.

When the air is thin at higher elevations, the ball travels faster and comes off the court faster and higher. Playing at attitude takes practice, and in a tournament or dual match, requires specially designed high-altitude balls that are slightly larger to accommodate the change.

As such, the Montana women's tennis team goes a mile-high this week to Colorado, where the Griz will face the Denver Pioneers, and get practice at altitude before their conference opener against NAU at 7,000+ feet in Flagstaff, Arizona, in two weeks.

The Griz (1-5) continue their challenging nonconference schedule against the Pioneers (4-2) on Friday, Feb. 15, with start time set for 11 a.m.

There are two very specific goals for Montana heading into the one-off dual at the Denver Tennis Park. One: repeat the performance that gained them an upset over Grand Canyon two weeks ago. And two: train at altitude to prepare to face the defending Big Sky champion Lumberjacks on their own turf.

Led by the No. 47 player in the nation in Chiara Tomasetti, NAU has been the class of the conference in recent years, and for UM head coach Steve Ascher their home-court advantage is a big reason why, and practice is the only way to prepare his team.

"I think it's vital," said Ascher. "NAU has set the bar, and we need to pursue it."

Before turning their attention to their conference foes, the Griz must first deal with the Pioneers, a traditionally strong program that finished the 2019 season ranked No. 45 in the country.

"They might be the best team we see all season. They're deep," said Ascher.

But the Grizzlies are used to it.

With an upset over GCU already in the bank and an encouraging performance against both Michigan State and Xavier, the Griz feel like they are on the right trajectory to climb back to the top of the Big Sky table, and will look to continue that trajectory in Colorado.

"We're looking for continuity in playing these good teams," said Ascher.

"I feel like we're starting to realize that all we need to do is go out and compete. You're taking away the sense of national rankings and all the peripheral things that people talk about, and you're realizing this is just what we do - week in and week out. We compete. I think they're getting good at blocking that out."

Montana has already had success against Denver this year, with UM ace Julia Ronney defeating the, then, No. 93-ranked Anna Reidmiller at the San Diego State Invitational in the fall.

While there's no guarantee of a rematch on Friday, the Griz will be in a good position for an upset, especially with the emergence of some of the team's younger stars.

Freshman Olivia Oosterbaan picked up the first dual win of her career last week in Michigan, defeating Xavier's Anna Roggenburk (5-7, 6-3, 15-13) on the No. 2 court.

Sophomore Lauren Dunlap has also turned heads this season, taking a pair of wins over Grand Canyon (one in doubles with her partner Alex Walker, the other in singles on court four) to earn the first Big Sky Player of the Week honor of her career.

Montana faces NAU on Feb. 27, and will also take on New Mexico while in Flagstaff on Feb. 28. The Griz then travel down to Tucson to take on San Francisco and Arizona for a doubleheader on Feb. 29.

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Players Mentioned

Lauren Dunlap

Olivia Oosterbaan

Julia Ronney

Alex Walker

University of Montana Athletics