Montana women picked fifth in preseason poll

Coming off their best season in nearly five years, the Montana women's tennis team has been picked to return to the Big Sky Conference Championship tournament in 2022, coming in at No. 5 in the preseason coaches' poll, the league announced Friday.

At 6-6 overall and 3-2 in home matches, Montana narrowly missed out on a downsized 2021 spring championship where only the top four teams in the league advanced.

Now back to a six-team format, the Griz enter the year seeking a return to the tourney for the first time since 2015.

"Early season rankings are a great sign that we will be playing competitive tennis again," said head coach Steve Ascher.

"We're excited to get the season rolling in a couple weeks and start chasing after these Big Sky opponents. I really like our team this season, and knowing that live tennis is just around the corner gives us goosebumps."

The Grizzlies will play six home matches in the 2022 duals season, starting with a round-robin weekend featuring perennial powerhouses Utah State of the Mountain West Conference and the University of Portland from the West Coast Conference. UM hosts the Aggies at 1 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 25, and the Pilots for a Sunday matinee at 10 a.m. on Feb. 27.

The Griz then finish the season at home, hosting the top two teams in the preseason poll in Weber State on March 26 and Northern Arizona on April 1. UM closes out the regular season against the bottom two teams in the poll in Idaho State on April 2 and Sacramento State April 8.

The Big Sky Championship Tournament will once again be held at the Phoenix Tennis Center in Arizona from April 28-30.

Montana returns five lettermen in 2022 with just one senior lost to graduation in All-Big Sky ace Julia Ronney. Senior Lauren Dunlap, junior Olivia Oosterbaan, and sophomore Ivayla Mitkova combined for 20 wins last season and will be back to lead UM this season.

Freshmen Grace Haugen and Rosie Sterk will also be in the mix to crack the lineup after strong fall tournament seasons.

Two-time defending champion Northern Arizona was a near-unanimous pick to repeat as Big Sky champs in 2022, while Weber State, who the Griz defeated 4-3 in Missoula last March, was slotted to come in third. Eastern Washington and Portland State were picked third and fourth, respectively.

2022 Big Sky Women's Tennis Coaches' Poll
1.     Northern Arizona – 64 (8)
2.     Weber State – 54 (1)
3.     Eastern Washington – 50
4.     Portland State – 38
5.     Montana – 35
6.     Idaho – 29
7.     Montana State – 21
8.     Idaho State – 20
9.     Sacramento State – 13

University of Montana Athletics

Related News

Players Mentioned

Lauren Dunlap

Grace Haugen

Ivayla Mitkova

Olivia Oosterbaan

Julia Ronney

Rosie Sterk

Related Videos