Griz tennis heads to Bozeman to kick off Big Sky Conference play

The Montana women's tennis team is headed to Bozeman to face Montana State for the Brawl of the Wild. Not only is this a big weekend for the Griz (3-2) to play the Cats (3-6), but this weekend is the official start to Big Sky Conference play for both teams.

"It's exciting. The Griz/Cat game is always a big deal in the state. We're excited to go over there and get after it. We're finally getting to a spot where we're healthy and getting people back into play. We're able to put more of it together now, more than we were able to earlier in the spring. We've been off for a week or two, and it's been amazing to see some of the growth that's happened in that time period," said head coach Steve Ascher.

The match is scheduled on Sunday, Feb. 13 at 10 a.m. taking place at the Bobcat/Anderson Tennis Center. There will be no live scoring or video for the match.

As Griz nation knows, the rivalry between the two schools has dated back several years. Tennis isn't any different. The Griz own a record of 8-3 over the Cats in recent years, winning the last two matches. The last time Montana was in Bozeman, the Griz defeated the Cats to bring home a 4-3 win and clinch a season sweep over MSU.

Senior Lauren Dunlap heads into the weekend excited to face the Cats in her last season with the Griz. "It's always my favorite match. Last year we beat them twice, so we're hoping to keep the momentum going. I'm super excited, it'll be a lot of fun."

Montana State enters the weekend coming off two losses versus Gonzaga and South Dakota State. The Cats carry a record of 3-6 going into the weekend, beating Wyoming, Seattle, and Oral Roberts.
The Cats bring sophomore Felicia Jayasaputra to the courts this weekend, who is 10-7 on the season playing mainly in position three.

A GLIMPSE AT THE GRIZ

Freshman Grace Haugen earned two singles wins and four doubles wins last time the Griz were on the courts. The young Grizzly, playing on court one, owns a record of 3-2 in singles and 4-1 in doubles.
Senior Lauren Dunlap returns to the courts after her eye-catching performance versus Washington State and LC State. She enters the weekend going 4-1 in both singles and doubles.
Coming off two dual and doubles wins, Ivayla Mitkova, Griz junior, goes into the weekend owning a record of 3-2 in singles and 2-2 in doubles.
Playing in position two, Olivia Oosterbaan holds a record of 2-3 in both singles and doubles.
North Vancouver native, Alex Walker, carries a record of 1-1 in singles and 0-1 in doubles.
Rosie Sterk represented Montana for her first collegiate duals match, earning three singles wins and two doubles wins.
Claudia Reguant, UM senior, saw action on the courts against the Cougars and the Warriors. The Grizzly heads into the weekend 2-1 in doubles and 1-2 in singles.
Maria Goheen and Aili Hietala will be joining Montana this weekend for their first duals matches of the season.
Head coach Steve Ascher owns a record of 123-172 in his 14th season with the Griz.

Griz tennis heads to Bozeman to kick off Big Sky Conference play

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Players Mentioned

Lauren Dunlap

Maria Goheen

Grace Haugen

Aili Hietala

Ivayla Mitkova

Olivia Oosterbaan

Claudia Reguant

Rosie Sterk

Alex Walker

University of Montana Athletics