Griz travel to face UC Davis and Sac State

The Montana women's tennis team travels to California Thursday morning and will jump right into action as the Griz take on UC Davis that afternoon before turning around and facing Sacramento State Friday morning.

The pair of matches were initially scheduled for Friday and Saturday, but with more forecasted rain in the area were bumped up.

Montana will now face the Aggies in nonconference action at 3:30 p.m. (MT) on Thursday, March 2, and the Hornets in Big Sky action on Friday, March 3, at 10:30 a.m. (MT) at the Sac State Tennis Center.

With rain expected on Saturday, Sacramento State will then play Montana State in a doubleheader Friday afternoon.

No live coverage will be available from either UC Davis or Sac State.

Montana enters the weekend at 3-6 on the season, looking to pick up the team's first D-I win of the year after falling to Idaho State 5-2 in the Big Sky opener on Feb. 18.

The Griz will have history on their side against the Hornets, with UM picking up a 5-2 win in their last meeting on the final weekend of the season last year.

In that match, Grace Haugen and Lauren Dunlap picked up a 6-1 win on court one doubles, as did Olivia Oosterbaan and Maria Goheen on court two to give the Griz the opening point at the Peak in Missoula.

Haugen and Goheen also picked up singles wins, with Haugen beating Weronia Ejsmont 6-2, 6-1, setting up a potential rematch this weekend. On court four, Goheen beat Paige Alter 6-3, 6-3, before UM's Alex Walker clinched the match for UM with a 6-2, 7-5 win on court five.

UC Davis is 3-7 on the season, and 1-2 in Big West Conference play, coming off a 6-1 win at UC Irvine followed by a narrow 4-3 loss at San Francisco. The Aggies are paced by Arianna Stavropoulos, who enters the week at 7-3, with all 10 matches played on the No. 2 court. Head coach Bill Maze is in his 28th year coaching the UC Davis women, having racked up 307 wins in his tenure.

Sac State sits at 4-4 on the season, with the match against the Grizzlies serving as the Hornets' Big Sky opener. Sac has also not played since Feb. 18, after their last match against Pacific was canceled due to rain in the area.

The Hornets are led by Maddy Ferreros and Mayya Gorbunova, who won back-to-back Big Sky Player of the Week honors in mid-February. Gorbunova has impressed early in the year, sitting at 8-0 in singles, with all eight wins coming on court one, including a straight-sets upset over the No. 65-ranked Matilde Magrini of Fresno State.

UP NEXT: Montana will play its first match of the year at home, and it's a big one. The Griz host Montana State on Saturday, March 11, at Noon in Missoula at the Peak Racquet Club. Admission at the Peak is free.

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Players Mentioned

Lauren Dunlap

Maria Goheen

Grace Haugen

Olivia Oosterbaan

Alex Walker

University of Montana Athletics