Griz head to Flagstaff looking for upset

Fresh off a big conference win over Idaho with player of the week honors to go along with it, the Montana women's tennis team hits the road for the final time this season, heading to Flagstaff to take on the nationally ranked NAU Lumberjacks.

The Griz (5-10, 2-3 BSC) will face one of their tallest tasks off the season at altitude against NAU, who checked in as the No. 67 team in the nation this week and sit undefeated at 4-0 (8-5 overall) on top of the Big Sky standings.

But the Griz enter this week's dual sitting right where they want to be in terms of making their return to the conference championship tournament in Phoenix.

With wins over Montana State and Idaho in hand and home matches still on the schedule against 0-3 Eastern Washington and 2-2 Portland State, the Griz currently sit among the top six teams in the league. If they remain among the top six, they'll punch their ticket to Phoenix for the first time since 2015.

With only two weeks remaining in the regular season, the Griz head to Flagstaff with their goals in front of them and nothing to lose as they climb to 7,000 feet to take on the two-time defending Big Sky champions on their home court.

"I think it's going to be a fun match. We're in a good mindset. Playing at altitude like that is kind of like playing ping pong on the moon. So, if we go in with the right mindset, we're going to compete, we're going to work hard, and do whatever we can to get a win," said head coach Steve Ascher.

"We've been pulling out a lot of close points in our conference matches and going after them aggressively. So, it's been fun."

Opening serves from the NAU Tennis Center go up Friday morning at 11 a.m. (MT). Links to live scoring from the match can be found at GoGriz.com.

GRIZ TRACKS: With an epic clinch in doubles and a straight-set win in singles against Idaho, Grizzly senior Maria Goheen was named Big Sky women's tennis Player of the Week for the first time in her career on Wednesday.

Goheen and her partner Grace Haugen clinched the doubles point for Montana in a thrilling tiebreaker (7-6 (9)) that saw several lead changes and was eventually won for the Griz on a Goheen return.

In singles, Goheen, a senior from Aurora, Ill., also dispatched the Vandals' Selin Sepken in straight sets (6-3, 6-2) to put UM up 3-1, eventually leading to a Grizzly clinch from Shivika Agrawal.

• Senior Lauren Dunlap and sophomore Rosie Sterk battled off sickness last week against the Vandals to improve on their Big Sky-best doubles record. The UM No. 1 pair moved to 11-4 overall this spring and 4-1 in conference play together, having won three straight and eight of their last ten.

• Doubles has been one of the Grizzlies' strengths this season, now having won the opening point in five-straight matches and is seven of the last duals overall.

• Montana has dropped four straight to NAU, a perennial powerhouse in the Big Sky and a two-time defending champs.

In the last meeting between the two, however, the Griz were on the verge of an upset in a 4-3 loss in Missoula. Haugen and Dunlap picked up a doubles win on court one, as did Olivia Oosterbaan and Goheen on court two to take a 1-0 lead.

In singles, Goheen and Ivayla Mitkova picked up straight-set wins on courts four and five to put the Griz within striking distance of the eventual title winners.

SCOUTING THE JACKS: Northern Arizona enters the match after a pair of nonconference losses in Flagstaff, falling to the Colorado Buffaloes 1-4 and New Mexico 3-4. A win over No. 53 Colorado State also highlights their schedule, as well as running off to a 4-0 start in league play.

Freshman Pat Niewiadomska of Poland has been running through her competition for NAU this spring at 11-3 overall in singles, one of the league's best records. She's bolstered the middle of the Lumberjack lineup at 7-1 on court three and has won nine of her last ten matches, with six going in straight sets.

UP NEXT: Montana caps the regular season with a pair of crucial conference matches in Missoula next weekend that will determine the team's postseason future.

The Griz open the homestand against Portland State on Friday, April 7, at the Peak Racquet Club. The match is part of a day of celebration for Grizzly Athletics in the first-ever "Spring Festival," giving fans a chance to win prizes on a jam-packed day of sports at UM.

April 7 sees women's tennis, men's tennis, softball, and football all competing in Missoula, culminating with the spring football game at 6 p.m. inside Washington-Grizzly Stadium.

Fans are encouraged to attend as many Griz sporting events as possible that day and collect Easter Eggs at each event that day and redeem their eggs at the spring football game for prizes ranging from Griz apparel to signed merchandise and game tickets. The grand-prize winner will take home a pair of suite tickets to the 2023 Griz-Cat football game on Nov. 18.

Women's tennis gets the Spring Festival started, with serves against PSU going up at 9 a.m. at the Peak.

UM will then celebrate senior day at the final home match of the year on April 9 against Eastern Washington.

Should the Griz pick up a pair of wins, their ticket to Phoenix is a virtual lock as one of the top six teams in the conference standings.

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Players Mentioned

Shivika Agrawal

Lauren Dunlap

Maria Goheen

Grace Haugen

Ivayla Mitkova

Olivia Oosterbaan

Rosie Sterk

University of Montana Athletics