Women’s tennis to host Weber State Saturday

In the limited sample size that has been the 2021 tennis season, the PEAK Racquet club in Missoula has been very good to the Montana women's tennis team.

While the Griz have only had the chance to play two matches on their home courts, they've both been wins, and big ones at that. Of course, any time you sweep Idaho State and Montana State in a single weekend is a good result.

This week, Montana gets the chance to improve to 3-0 at home as the Grizzlies host Weber State for a one-off non-conference match at the PEAK on Saturday morning, with opening serves going up at 9 a.m.

Limited spectators are welcome to the PEAK to watch the match, with facemasks required in the facility. Links to live scoring are available at GoGriz.com.

The Griz enter the match at 4-4 on the year, coming off a pair of matches that mirror their season record: the incredible high of an upset win and the anguish of a nail-biting loss.

Montana last played two weeks ago in Oregon, where the Griz knocked-off the University of Portland for the first time in almost a decade but followed that up with a narrow 3-4 loss to Portland State that put them behind the 8-ball in the race to the Big Sky championship.

Now, after a week to prepare, the Griz take on the Wildcats for the first time since 2019, with UM 1-1 against WSU in their last two meetings dating back to 2018.

"I think we're feeling good. We've all been training, and we've all been working really hard. That close 3-4 loss made us hungrier, so we're excited to get back on the court and excited to compete at home again," said sophomore Maria Goheen.

"That win over Portland was huge, and that gave us a ton of confidence. Portland State didn't finish the way we wanted, but that's why doubles is so important."

The doubles round, always of vital importance to establish momentum in college tennis, has been a point of focus for the Griz this week, with only two wins to date on the season.

Momentum will come in handy for the Griz against the Wildcats, too, with Weber State coming to Missoula with some big wins and eye-catching losses on their 3-8 record. Weber picked up two big wins early in the season, defeating New Mexico State and UTEP 6-1 and taking close losses to UNLV 3-4 and Utah 2-4.

"I think doubles will be really important. We've been trying to start strong, and there' been a few times where we've come in a little slow, so it will be important to go in with a lot of energy from the beginning," added Goheen.

Montana has shined in singles, however, with UM sweeping all but one match in their four wins.

The Griz will be led into action this week by Julia Ronney, who was named Big Sky Player of the Week for a second time this season after the Oregon trip after going undefeated in singles against the Pilots and Vikings.

At 6-2 on the year, Ronney is currently carrying the fourth-best overall singles record in the Big Sky, winning 75-percent of her matches.

Montana's youngsters have been doing some heavy lifting this season as well.

Goheen and freshman Ivayla Mitkova enter the match with Montana's second-best overall records, both at 5-3 on the season and 2-0 in Big Sky play. Goheen's 5-3 record on court four is also the best overall at that position in the league, while Mitkova's five wins are the most on court five in the conference.

Montana is next scheduled to return to action on April 4 when the Griz travel to Bozeman for a non-conference tune-up against Montana State. They then cap the regular season with two must-win league matches against Idaho and Eastern Washington in mid-April to determine their postseason fate.

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Players Mentioned

Maria Goheen

Ivayla Mitkova

Julia Ronney

University of Montana Athletics