Four Griz tennis players receive Big Sky honors
5/9/2022 12:03:00 PM | Women's Tennis
FARMINGTON, Utah – Four Montana women's tennis players earn Big Sky honors, the league announced Monday. In singles, freshman Grace Haugen netted All-Big Sky first team, while Maria Goheen and Olivia Oosterbaan received honorable mention honors. All three Griz repeated in doubles, with Haugen and her partner Lauren Dunlap being named to the All-Big Sky second team, and Goheen/Oosterbaan logging honorable mention honors.
Haugen is the first Montana freshman in 10 years to be named to the All-Big Sky first team. The last freshman who received this honor was Laurence Pelchat in 2012.
Haugen, a true freshman, came into the league playing in position one, where she logged seven wins and seven losses. The Cowichan Bay, B.C., native also tallied a win on court two, when the team played Idaho State.
The freshman missed five matches due to injury but continued to be a constant in Montana's lineup. Haugen finished the spring season 8-7 overall and 3-2 in conference play. On court one, she earned wins over four non-conference opponents: Seattle, Lewis-Clark State, Dixie State and Utah State. Haugen's first dual performance as a Grizzly versus Seattle clinched the win for Montana and secured her Big Sky Player of the Week honors. The freshman's three conference wins came from Montana State, Idaho State and Sacramento State.
"She came in strong and had a really good fall in singles. She beat some really good players regionally. Then, she made it to the ITA regional doubles quarterfinal with Maria, which was a huge, huge result and I think kind of sets the tone when you get some early results," said head coach Steve Ascher.
"Coming into spring, she had a good record and she played some great matches and got some good wins. She persevered and came back strong after fighting through some injuries on the year as well. So, I think in the matches she played she was really competitive and I think she got recognized for her hard work."
Goheen battled an injury coming into the spring season but found her stride toward the closing of the season. The junior finished the spring going 8-6 overall and 5-3 in Big Sky play. Goheen played the majority of the season in position four, going 7-3. The junior ended the season with a three-match win streak.
"She was out with an injury and then she worked her way back into things. The last three weeks of tennis from her in the spring were incredible. She was finally back at that level and then eclipsing the level she was at, because she had finished the fall really strong at the Gonzaga tournament, so it just took a while. I think her mindset of working through some of those physical challenges was huge and she's starting to grow and progress again," said Ascher.
Oosterbaan kept the competition high throughout the season, capping the spring with a record of 9-11 overall and 4-2 in conference play. The Chicago, Ill., native played primarily on court two going 6-8 but made six appearances on court one, going 3-3 overall.
The junior earned wins in position one over Weber State, Idaho State and George Fox.
"I think Olivia grew a lot this year. Every single match she played, she was competitive whether she won or she lost. She was pushing three-setters, she was pushing tight sets and she was winning matches. She's getting a lot better in terms of her growth as a player strategically. Technically, she's working on a lot of different things and strength-wise as well. She's invested a lot in her game and it's great to see her get some recognition as well," Ascher said.
Dunlap and Haugen posted a record of 7-2 overall in doubles and 3-2 in the conference, ending their doubles season with a three-match win streak. The pair played all matches on court one and found chemistry early.
The pair took wins over Seattle, Washington State, Lewis-Clark State, Idaho State, Northern Arizona and Sacramento State.
Unfortunately, injuries kept the two from playing consistently throughout the season, so they didn't get the opportunity to reach their full potential.
"I think it started off with them beating the number one team at Washington State. It was an impactful win, which was good. Things were clicking for them, but then they ended up with some injuries so I had to do a ton of shuffling throughout the middle of the year in the spring
"Finally, things started getting healthier for not only Grace but for multiple people. We were kind of able to experiment a little bit more and at the end, they were cruising. I think their win against NAU was really good. They play well, their chemistry is good and they just work together really well. They're a formidable team. It'd be cool to see what would happen when they did get healthy for a stretch. They went 7-2 on the spring which is a high standard at one doubles," said Ascher.
Goheen and Oosterbaan capped their doubles season going undefeated and earning four wins. The duo paired together for the last four matches of the year, where they dominated on court two, clicking instantly. Goheen and Oosterbaan found wins over Weber State, Idaho State, Northern Arizona and Sacramento State.
"The way they gelled when they'd never been paired together in doubles was special. They went undefeated for the last four matches and really just clicked. Their chemistry together was really awesome. So, I think that was a lot of fun," Ascher noted.
Montana will be returning everyone on the roster for the 2022-23 season outside of Alex Walker and Claudia Reguant, who will be graduating this spring. The team will look to use the momentum it gained toward the end of the season to start the 2022 season strong.
2022 Big Sky Women's Tennis Individual Awards
Coach of the Year: RuthAnn Allen, Weber State
Most Valuable Player: Gina Dittmann, Northern Arizona
Freshman of the Year: Marta Garcia-Reboredo, Montana State
All-Big Sky Singles
First Team
Gina Dittmann, Northern Arizona
Ke Syuan Jhang, Idaho
Ana Morett, Weber State
Sofia Markova, Northern Arizona
Marta Garcia-Reboredo, Montana State
Grace Haugen, Montana
Second Team
Megan Davies, Weber State
Mimi Bland, Northern Arizona
Capu Sanoner, Portland State
Tsveti Yotova, Sacramento State
Scout Mathews, Eastern Washington
Hana Cho, Idaho State
Honorable Mention
Megan Lombardi, Weber State
Mirte Van Baelen, Montana State
Ava Neyestani, Northern Arizona
Olivia Oosterbaan, Montana
Maria Goheen, Montana
Lola O Lideadha, Idaho State
Sol O Lideadha, Idaho State
All-Big Sky Doubles
First Team
Sanoner/Beukers, Portland State
Bland/Davis, Northern Arizona
Dittmann/Neyestani, Northern Arizona
Second Team
Rees/Hernandez, Portland State
Haugen/Dunlap, Montana
Yotova/Alter, Sacramento State
Kuo/Morett, Weber State
Honorable Mention
Van Baelen/Garcia-Reboredo, Montana State
Ukita/Lombardi, Weber State
Oosterbaan/Goheen, Montana
Haugen is the first Montana freshman in 10 years to be named to the All-Big Sky first team. The last freshman who received this honor was Laurence Pelchat in 2012.
Haugen, a true freshman, came into the league playing in position one, where she logged seven wins and seven losses. The Cowichan Bay, B.C., native also tallied a win on court two, when the team played Idaho State.
The freshman missed five matches due to injury but continued to be a constant in Montana's lineup. Haugen finished the spring season 8-7 overall and 3-2 in conference play. On court one, she earned wins over four non-conference opponents: Seattle, Lewis-Clark State, Dixie State and Utah State. Haugen's first dual performance as a Grizzly versus Seattle clinched the win for Montana and secured her Big Sky Player of the Week honors. The freshman's three conference wins came from Montana State, Idaho State and Sacramento State.
"She came in strong and had a really good fall in singles. She beat some really good players regionally. Then, she made it to the ITA regional doubles quarterfinal with Maria, which was a huge, huge result and I think kind of sets the tone when you get some early results," said head coach Steve Ascher.
"Coming into spring, she had a good record and she played some great matches and got some good wins. She persevered and came back strong after fighting through some injuries on the year as well. So, I think in the matches she played she was really competitive and I think she got recognized for her hard work."
Goheen battled an injury coming into the spring season but found her stride toward the closing of the season. The junior finished the spring going 8-6 overall and 5-3 in Big Sky play. Goheen played the majority of the season in position four, going 7-3. The junior ended the season with a three-match win streak.
"She was out with an injury and then she worked her way back into things. The last three weeks of tennis from her in the spring were incredible. She was finally back at that level and then eclipsing the level she was at, because she had finished the fall really strong at the Gonzaga tournament, so it just took a while. I think her mindset of working through some of those physical challenges was huge and she's starting to grow and progress again," said Ascher.
Oosterbaan kept the competition high throughout the season, capping the spring with a record of 9-11 overall and 4-2 in conference play. The Chicago, Ill., native played primarily on court two going 6-8 but made six appearances on court one, going 3-3 overall.
The junior earned wins in position one over Weber State, Idaho State and George Fox.
"I think Olivia grew a lot this year. Every single match she played, she was competitive whether she won or she lost. She was pushing three-setters, she was pushing tight sets and she was winning matches. She's getting a lot better in terms of her growth as a player strategically. Technically, she's working on a lot of different things and strength-wise as well. She's invested a lot in her game and it's great to see her get some recognition as well," Ascher said.
Dunlap and Haugen posted a record of 7-2 overall in doubles and 3-2 in the conference, ending their doubles season with a three-match win streak. The pair played all matches on court one and found chemistry early.
The pair took wins over Seattle, Washington State, Lewis-Clark State, Idaho State, Northern Arizona and Sacramento State.
Unfortunately, injuries kept the two from playing consistently throughout the season, so they didn't get the opportunity to reach their full potential.
"I think it started off with them beating the number one team at Washington State. It was an impactful win, which was good. Things were clicking for them, but then they ended up with some injuries so I had to do a ton of shuffling throughout the middle of the year in the spring
"Finally, things started getting healthier for not only Grace but for multiple people. We were kind of able to experiment a little bit more and at the end, they were cruising. I think their win against NAU was really good. They play well, their chemistry is good and they just work together really well. They're a formidable team. It'd be cool to see what would happen when they did get healthy for a stretch. They went 7-2 on the spring which is a high standard at one doubles," said Ascher.
Goheen and Oosterbaan capped their doubles season going undefeated and earning four wins. The duo paired together for the last four matches of the year, where they dominated on court two, clicking instantly. Goheen and Oosterbaan found wins over Weber State, Idaho State, Northern Arizona and Sacramento State.
"The way they gelled when they'd never been paired together in doubles was special. They went undefeated for the last four matches and really just clicked. Their chemistry together was really awesome. So, I think that was a lot of fun," Ascher noted.
Montana will be returning everyone on the roster for the 2022-23 season outside of Alex Walker and Claudia Reguant, who will be graduating this spring. The team will look to use the momentum it gained toward the end of the season to start the 2022 season strong.
2022 Big Sky Women's Tennis Individual Awards
Coach of the Year: RuthAnn Allen, Weber State
Most Valuable Player: Gina Dittmann, Northern Arizona
Freshman of the Year: Marta Garcia-Reboredo, Montana State
All-Big Sky Singles
First Team
Gina Dittmann, Northern Arizona
Ke Syuan Jhang, Idaho
Ana Morett, Weber State
Sofia Markova, Northern Arizona
Marta Garcia-Reboredo, Montana State
Grace Haugen, Montana
Second Team
Megan Davies, Weber State
Mimi Bland, Northern Arizona
Capu Sanoner, Portland State
Tsveti Yotova, Sacramento State
Scout Mathews, Eastern Washington
Hana Cho, Idaho State
Honorable Mention
Megan Lombardi, Weber State
Mirte Van Baelen, Montana State
Ava Neyestani, Northern Arizona
Olivia Oosterbaan, Montana
Maria Goheen, Montana
Lola O Lideadha, Idaho State
Sol O Lideadha, Idaho State
All-Big Sky Doubles
First Team
Sanoner/Beukers, Portland State
Bland/Davis, Northern Arizona
Dittmann/Neyestani, Northern Arizona
Second Team
Rees/Hernandez, Portland State
Haugen/Dunlap, Montana
Yotova/Alter, Sacramento State
Kuo/Morett, Weber State
Honorable Mention
Van Baelen/Garcia-Reboredo, Montana State
Ukita/Lombardi, Weber State
Oosterbaan/Goheen, Montana
Players Mentioned
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