Griz win doubles, fall in singles for 5-2 loss at Weber State

Sunday, March 19

Ogden, Utah

10 AM

Montana

Weber State

The Griz play against Montana State at PEAK Racket Club in Missoula on Saturday, March 11, 2023.

Photo by: Ryan Brennecke/UM Athletics

Griz win doubles, fall in singles for 5-2 loss at Weber State

3/19/2023 2:49:00 PM | Women's Tennis

Box Score

By: Montana Sports Information

The Montana women's tennis team was in Ogden on Saturday looking for an upset on the road over the preseason No. 2 Weber State Wildcats in the heart of a tough conference road schedule.

A Grizzly win in the doubles round put UM on track for that upset, but Weber State came roaring back in singles, winning five of the six matches to defend their home court in a 5-2 Big Sky victory.

The Griz fall to 4-9 overall and 1-3 in conference play, while the Wildcats improve to 6-7 and 3-1 in the Big Sky.

UM won the doubles round with wins on courts one and three, but the Wildcats earned straight-set wins in positions one, two, three, and five, with a three-setter on court six to close out the win.

Olivia Oosterbaan and Hailey Murphy picked up a win on court three, beating WSU's Semenik/Ferreira pair 6-4, to put the Griz up early in the opening round.

Montana senior Lauren Dunlap then continued her hot streak, clinching the doubles point for the Griz with her partner Rosie Sterk on court one, beating WSU's Davies/Morett pair 6-4 to put UM ahead 1-0 in the team score.

Dunlap was also UM's only winner in the singles round, taking a court four win over Kenadee Seminik in straight sets, 6-4, 6-2.

The native of Tampa, Florida, has been one of the Big Sky's best in recent weeks, winning five of her last seven singles and six of her last eight doubles matches. She now sits at 5-6 overall in singles and moves to 9-4 with her doubles partner Sterk.

"The doubles was strong with some great discipline and strong net play. I love how they are really playing well in the big points," said head coach Steve Ascher.

"We competed well in singles. We just need to find ways to capitalize on a few more no-ad points and put the opponents under pressure. That would have made a difference. Weber plays well at home, but we were right there and gave them a great match."

UP NEXT: Montana continues its two-match swing along the Wasatch Front in Logan on Monday with a nonconference dual at Utah State.

UM then return home for a crucial conference match against Idaho in a week's time, hosting the Vandals in Missoula on Sunday, March 26, at the Peak Racquet Club, with serves going up at 10 a.m.

The Griz, picked to return to the Big Sky postseason tournament for the first time since 2015 as the No. 5 team in the preseason poll, have had to face each of the four teams ranked ahead of them on the road this season. UM has one more conference road trip ahead of it, traveling to Flagstaff to face the nationally-ranked NAU Lumberjacks on March 31.

With a rivalry win over Montana State in hand, the Griz close the season with two crucial home matches against Portland State and Eastern Washington, seeking to punch their ticket to the Big Sky tourney in Phoenix as one of the top six teams on the conference table.