Griz fall to Lumberjacks in Flagstaff

Friday, March 31

Flagstaff, Ariz.

11 AM (MT)

Montana

Northern Arizona

Lauren Dunlap hits the ball against the Idaho Vandals on March 23, 2023 at PEAK Fitness. The Grizzlies beat the Vandals 5-2.

Photo by: UM Photo / Ridley Hudson

3/31/2023 2:24:00 PM | Women's Tennis

Box Score PDF Box Score

By: Montana Sports Information

The No. 67 Northern Arizona Lumberjacks overpowered a shorthanded Montana women's tennis team 7-0 at altitude in Flagstaff on Friday.

The Griz fall to 5-11 on the season and 2-4 in conference play, while the Big Sky No. 1 Jacks remain perfect in the league standings at 5-0 and improve to 9-6 overall.

Montana got yet another win from Lauren Dunlap and Rosie Sterk in doubles but dropped the other two matches to go behind 1-0 early in the team score. NAU then won five of the six singles matches in straight sets to sweep the Griz 7-0.

"The win at number one doubles was awesome. Lauren and Rosie played the way they have been playing all spring, so it was fun to see them earn a great win," said head coach Steve Ascher.

"We competed and worked to push NAU today, we just ran into a team that is confident and were able to pull out a ton of deuce points. Everyone played hard, and I'm proud of how we stayed focused in such a challenging environment."

With their 6-4 doubles win over NAU's No. 1 Guadiana/Beazley pair, Dunlap and Sterk improve to 12-4 together this season as winners of four-straight and nine of their last 11, despite both returning from illness just a week ago.

They include wins over pairs from Gonzaga, Utah, Sac State, Idaho State, Weber State, Utah State, NAU, and more on their resume this season, putting them in the conversation for a place among the best in the west when the ITA releases its Mountain Region rankings at the end of the year.

In singles, the defending Big Sky Player of the Week, Maria Goheen, was the only Grizzly to win a set in Flagstaff. She bounced back from a 2-6 loss in the first set to win the second 6-3 before eventually falling to Ava Neyestani 7-10 in a superbreaker.

The Griz were without one of their mid-lineup standouts, with freshman Hailey Murphy missing the trip due to injury.

The good news for Montana, however, is that UM still has its sights set on a top-six finish on the conference table with a return to the league's championship tournament in view.

The Griz will have home-court advantage as well, set to cap the regular season with two hugely important home matches in Missoula, where a pair of wins should see them through to Phoenix for the first time since 2015.

Montana hosts Portland State on Friday, April 7, as part of UM's Spring Festival of events. The Griz then cap the regular season against Eastern Washington on April 9, with both matches set to be played at the Peak Racquet Club.