Griz return home for Brawl of the Wild

With a 1-10 overall team record, the victories have come in drips and drabs for the Montana women's tennis team so far this season.

Early on, there was one of the biggest breakthroughs for the team in recent years with a 5-2 upset over Grand Canyon on UM's home courts at the Peak Racquet Club.

Since then, Montana has picked up little, but meaningful victories as it's traveled the country, battling its way through another of the most difficult nonconference schedules in program history. A doubles win here, a loss in a tiebreaker there – individual victories against top programs like Denver, Michigan State, and Arizona.

There's been a method to head coach Steve Ascher's scheduling madness, however, and that is to have his young team battle-tested for wins when it really matters. Wins when the heart of the Big Sky Conference schedule rolls around.

That time has arrived, and there is no more important time for UM to put what they've been working on into action.

Montana returns home this weekend for a pair of matches in the friendly confines of the Peak. The first is a final nonconference tune-up against the Portland Pilots on Friday at 12:30 p.m.

But the rubber meets the road on Sunday at 9 a.m. in the second when the Griz host the Montana State Bobcats in a crucial Brawl of the Wild match that will determine exactly where the team stands in its goal to return to the Big Sky tournament for the first time since 2015.

The match against the Bobcats, who come to Missoula at 2-9 after a similarly difficult nonconference schedule, means more than just in-state bragging rights, even though the rivalry adds an even bigger element of intensity.

It gives the Griz the chance to snap a seven-match losing streak in style, and Ascher thinks his team is ready to do just that.

"We're getting into conference play, so we have to get going. This has been a great tune-up in preparation for that," said the 11th-year head coach.

"We've been playing solid opponents, point in, and point out. Building consistency, and being present in the matches moment to moment. That's the ultimate preparation in terms of getting ready to go into Big Sky play. I think we're ready to roll, and we're ready to be home."

There have been other lessons learned for the Grizzlies as well that Ascher believes will help them in conference play. Freshman Maria Goheen, who has been a constant presence on court No. 3 for the Griz this season and is preparing to make her first trip around the Big Sky, says getting the chance to play back in Missoula will be a big help.

"We've played a lot of really good teams, and it's been challenging, but now we can use everything we've learned – the mental lessons we've learned, against conference teams," said Goheen.

"For me, it's been just building confidence and believing in myself and my abilities, knowing that I can compete with Big Sky teams."

Goheen, a true freshman from Aurora, Illinois, picked up her first doubles win in a dual match since arriving at Montana in the fall, and it was a big one. With her partner, junior Bianca Bostrom, the pair knocked off Northern Arizona's vaunted Tomasetti/Millard pair 6-4 to highlight UM's loss to the Lumberjacks in Flagstaff.

Before the Griz and Cats can tussle on Sunday, Montana will need to get past the Pilots, who come to Missoula at 2-2 on the season with a narrow 3-4 loss to UC Davis and wins over Puget Sound and Portland State on their record.

Montana will have to contend with a fresh Portland outfit, however, with the Pilots not having played for nearly a month since their last outing against PSU on Feb. 14.

When the Griz face the Bobcats on Sunday, Montana will look to repeat last year's performance against MSU in Bozeman, where UM capped its season with a come-from-behind 4-3 victory.

Montana will be led by junior Julia Ronney, who has never lost a singles match to the Cats in her three-year career as a Grizzly.

Ronney picked up a second-set win in Tucson against San Francisco's Mya Bui and was on the way to a win in the third set before the match was clinched in favor of the Dons.

With her partner Olivia Oosterbaan, Ronney has been lights-out in doubles as well, picking up a 6-2 win against New Mexico's No. 1 pair and leading Arizona's top pair 4-3 when the point was clinched.

On paper, the Griz will have the upper hand against MSU, with UM holding an advantage in Universal Tennis Ranking (UTR) up and down the lineup, led by Ronney, who enters the match with a 9.86 UTR – a +.41 advantage over the Bobcats' top player Laura Mary.

Montana's match against Portland opens a busy weekend for both the Grizzly men and women. UM's men's team opens Big Sky play on Saturday against Northern Colorado before a Griz doubleheader Sunday, with the women facing MSU at 9 a.m. and the men playing Portland State at 3 p.m.

All matches at the Peak are open to the public, and admission is free of charge.

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Players Mentioned

Bianca Bostrom

Maria Goheen

Olivia Oosterbaan

Julia Ronney

University of Montana Athletics