Ronney nabs Player of the Week hat trick
3/30/2021 2:52:00 PM | Women's Tennis
Not once, not twice, but for a third time this season, Montana netter Julia Ronney has been named the Big Sky women's tennis Player of the Week after clinching a thrilling win for the Grizzlies over Weber State Saturday.
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The UM senior has now won three of the last six weekly awards given out by the conference, earning her first on February 23 after upsetting Gonzaga's No. 1 player and following up with a second on March 16 after going undefeated against Portland and Portland State.
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To earn her third, Ronney won the deciding point in a dramatic 4-3 nonconference victory over Wildcat No. 1 Yunna Ukita, going undefeated in doubles and singles to clinch in a nail-biting third-set tiebreaker for the Grizzlies.
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In doubles, Ronney and her partner Olivia Oosterbaan also clinched the crucial opening point for UM on court one with a 6-3 win over WSU's Ukita/Salas pair after the Griz and Wildcats had split matches on courts two and three.
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In singles, Ronney once again played the decider.
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The Grizzly senior jumped out to an early lead over Ukita, herself a one-time Big Sky Player of the Week this season, with a 6-3 win in the first set. Ukita rallied, however, to take the second set 6-4.
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With Weber picking up a win on court four and on its way to wins on five and six, Ronney put the match on her shoulders and ground out the victory for the Griz, winning the third set in a dramatic tiebreaker 7-6 (5) to clinch the Griz victory 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (5).
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"This honor is well deserved for a gutsy performance and how she continued to persevere all the way through a challenging three-set match," said head coach Steve Ascher.
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"It started with a great team win in the doubles, and Olivia (Oosterbaan) and Lauren (Dunlap) winning their singles matches put Julia in a position to clinch the fourth point for the overall win. Great effort and recognition."
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Ronney is carrying the second-best win percentage on court one this season in the Big Sky at 7-2 overall and remains undefeated 2-0 in conference play.
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The Big Sky split its tennis teams into a north and south division for the 2021 season, with the top two teams from each advancing to the conference tourney in Phoenix in May. Weber State was placed in the south division, making Saturday's match out of conference.
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The Grizzlies return to action on April 4 in Bozeman for a nonconference rematch against Montana State. UM already took the Brawl of the Wild point with a 6-1 win over the Bobcats on February 28 in Missoula. Â
Previous Big Sky Women's Tennis Players of the Week
Mar. 23 – Gina Dittmann, Northern Arizona
Mar. 16 – Julia Ronney, Montana
Mar. 9 – Jayden Nielsen, Sacramento State
Mar. 2 – Makoto Ohara, Portland State
Feb. 23 – Julia Ronney, Montana
Feb. 16 – Gina Dittmann, Northern Arizona
Feb. 9 – Yuuna Ukita, Weber State
Feb. 2 – Hana Cho, Idaho State
Jan. 26 – Ellie Millard, Northern Arizona
Jan. 19 – Renata Gabuzyan, Eastern Washington
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The UM senior has now won three of the last six weekly awards given out by the conference, earning her first on February 23 after upsetting Gonzaga's No. 1 player and following up with a second on March 16 after going undefeated against Portland and Portland State.
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To earn her third, Ronney won the deciding point in a dramatic 4-3 nonconference victory over Wildcat No. 1 Yunna Ukita, going undefeated in doubles and singles to clinch in a nail-biting third-set tiebreaker for the Grizzlies.
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In doubles, Ronney and her partner Olivia Oosterbaan also clinched the crucial opening point for UM on court one with a 6-3 win over WSU's Ukita/Salas pair after the Griz and Wildcats had split matches on courts two and three.
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In singles, Ronney once again played the decider.
Â
The Grizzly senior jumped out to an early lead over Ukita, herself a one-time Big Sky Player of the Week this season, with a 6-3 win in the first set. Ukita rallied, however, to take the second set 6-4.
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With Weber picking up a win on court four and on its way to wins on five and six, Ronney put the match on her shoulders and ground out the victory for the Griz, winning the third set in a dramatic tiebreaker 7-6 (5) to clinch the Griz victory 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (5).
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"This honor is well deserved for a gutsy performance and how she continued to persevere all the way through a challenging three-set match," said head coach Steve Ascher.
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"It started with a great team win in the doubles, and Olivia (Oosterbaan) and Lauren (Dunlap) winning their singles matches put Julia in a position to clinch the fourth point for the overall win. Great effort and recognition."
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Ronney is carrying the second-best win percentage on court one this season in the Big Sky at 7-2 overall and remains undefeated 2-0 in conference play.
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The Big Sky split its tennis teams into a north and south division for the 2021 season, with the top two teams from each advancing to the conference tourney in Phoenix in May. Weber State was placed in the south division, making Saturday's match out of conference.
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The Grizzlies return to action on April 4 in Bozeman for a nonconference rematch against Montana State. UM already took the Brawl of the Wild point with a 6-1 win over the Bobcats on February 28 in Missoula. Â
Previous Big Sky Women's Tennis Players of the Week
Mar. 23 – Gina Dittmann, Northern Arizona
Mar. 16 – Julia Ronney, Montana
Mar. 9 – Jayden Nielsen, Sacramento State
Mar. 2 – Makoto Ohara, Portland State
Feb. 23 – Julia Ronney, Montana
Feb. 16 – Gina Dittmann, Northern Arizona
Feb. 9 – Yuuna Ukita, Weber State
Feb. 2 – Hana Cho, Idaho State
Jan. 26 – Ellie Millard, Northern Arizona
Jan. 19 – Renata Gabuzyan, Eastern Washington
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Players Mentioned
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