Griz cruise in weekend sweep

Friday, February 10

Lewiston, Idaho

4 PM (MT)

Montana

Lewis-Clark State

Photo by: Derek Johnson

2/12/2023 5:58:00 PM | Women's Tennis

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 Box Score 3

By: Montana Sports Information

The Montana women's tennis team made quick work of its two opponents in a weekend tripleheader at Lewis-Clark State in Idaho.

The Griz improved to 3-5 with a pair of wins over NAIA LC State and a 6-1 win over D-III Whitman in a neutral site dual at the LCSC Tennis Center in Lewiston.

Montana started slow, falling to LCSC in doubles to start the weekend slate on Friday afternoon. The Griz would rebound, however, beating the Warriors 5-2 and then sweeping them 7-0 in the second dual on Saturday morning.

UM capped the weekend Saturday afternoon with the win over Whitman to give the Griz their first three wins of the season.

"It was great to go and get three wins on the weekend," said head coach Steve Ascher.

"It was nice to see us respond after an initial bump in the road against LCSC in doubles. The team started really digging in and finding ways to raise the level of their games all weekend. I was impressed by how we responded after getting down in a few matches early and then really stepping up and finishing strong."

In the Friday afternoon match against LCSC, Lauren Dunlap and her doubles partner Rosie Sterk picked up UM's only win on court two as the Warriors took 7-6 victories on courts one and three to clinch the opening point.

LCSC picked up its second win on court one when UM sophomore Grace Haugen retired in the second set with an injury.

The Griz would dominate the remainder of the match, however, winning convincingly in straight-sets on courts two through six to take the 5-2 team win.

On Saturday morning, Montana kept the pedal down in the second dual against Lewis-Clark State. Dunlap and Sterk won again on court one doubles, while Shivika Agrawal and Hailey Murphy won 6-2 on court three to clinch the opening point for UM.

Olivia Oosterbaan won her match against Yelena Kim on court one in three sets after bouncing back from a loss in the first to take the match in a superbreaker.

The Griz didn't allow more than three games in a single set in the remainder of the match, winning on courts two through six in straights to win 7-0 and sweep the Warriors on the weekend.

Montana kept the momentum in the second match of the day Saturday against Whitman.

Agarawal and Ooosterbaan each got wins in a third-set superbreaker, while the remainder of the squad cruised.

Hailey Murphy highlighted Montana's singles run by pitching a shut-out over Carolyn Tarpey-Schwed on court two, 6-0, 6-0.

Sterk was another of Montana's standouts on the weekend, going 6-0 in doubles and singles, taking each win in straight sets.

UP NEXT: Montana opens Big Sky Conference play next week, heading to Pocatello to face Idaho State on Saturday, Feb. 18.