Griz women set to open season in Spokane

After its original season-opening matches were thwarted due to Covid protocols last week, the Montana women's tennis team heads to Spokane this weekend for a pair of matches against Whitworth and Gonzaga to knock the lid off the 2021 season.

Having originally been scheduled to play a doubleheader against the Zags, the Griz will instead see their first competition since March at Whitworth on Saturday at 4 p.m. (MT) at the Scotford Tennis Center. UM will then cap the weekend trip at Gonzaga's Stevens Tennis Center, with serves going up at 11:30 a.m. (MT).

Montana enters the season after a long but productive offseason. The Grizzlies were unable to compete as a team through the fall but found success as individuals at three different UTR ITA Fall Circuit tournaments.

One of Montana's highlights was All-Big Sky senior Julia Ronney, who picked up the second fall tournament championship of her career at the ITA Fall Circuit event in Salt Lake, winning a bracket made of the region's top-32 UTR-rated players.

With the advantage of at least some competition, Montana now turns its attention toward climbing the Big Sky table. And in this new, unpredictable world, they're just happy to get the chance.

"I think we're just looking for experience, experience, experience this week," said head coach Steve Ascher.

"Knowing how this season can be in a state of flux and force us to adjust, we're just going to approach every match we get with the idea that we're fortunate to be here, so let's work as hard as we can and gain as much as we can from each opportunity. We all feel fortunate to be able to play right now."

But as the saying goes, before they can run, they must learn how to walk, as a team, following the long break in organized play.

"We had a really good fall. It's weird to say, but we got a lot of experience, a lot of time on the court, a lot of conditioning, and the girls have been together a lot, so we've been lucky," said Ascher.

"It's time to play, and I think they deserve to play. I think it adds a little bit of normalcy to know that tennis is back, so it's good to get going."

Sophomore Olivia Oosterbaan was another Grizzly that got the chance to play in the fall at an ITA Fall Circuit event. She says she's excited to get some team competition this weekend and knows the spirits will be high.

"It feels great to finally play again. I'm so excited, and I think the whole team is ready," said Oosterbaan.

"We've been training all semester, which we've been so lucky to have been able to do. With so much uncertainty, I feel so appreciative to be able to play."

COVERAGE: At Whitworth, courts one and two will feature live video coverage from the Scotford Tennis Center, while Gonzaga will have live video and live scoring from the Stevens Tennis Center. Links to both can be found at GoGriz.com.

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Players Mentioned

Olivia Oosterbaan

Julia Ronney

University of Montana Athletics