Griz fall to Aggies in a 4-3 thriller

Sunday, February 18

Missoula, Mont.

10 AM

Montana

Utah State

2/18/2024 6:37:00 PM | Women's Tennis

Box Score Photo Gallery

By: Montana Sports Information

The Montana women's tennis team narrowly missed out on claiming its first win of the season Sunday, falling to Utah State of the Mountain West Conference in a 4-3 thriller that wasn't decided until the third set of the final match.

In an effervescent atmosphere at the Peak Racquet Club in Missoula that was high energy from the opening serve, the Griz rebounded from a close loss in the doubles round to win three of the top four singles matches in straight sets to take a 3-2 team lead.

After an Aggie win on court six tied the team score at three, UM junior Rosie Sterk bounced back from a 0-3 deficit to win her first set in a tiebreaker and pushed her second set to another tiebreaker to leave the outcome of the dual riding on the third set.

The upset wasn't to be for the Griz, however, as USU's Ana Sanchez ground down Sterk in the deciding set to give the visitors the 4-3 team win and an undefeated trip to Missoula after beating EWU 5-2 on Saturday. Montana, meanwhile, falls to 0-6.

Grizzly sophomore Hailey Murphy picked up her team-high third win of the season on court two and seniors Olivia Oosterbaan and Maria Goheen also took wins in straight sets on four and three to put UM in a position to win.

"It was pretty thrilling, especially in the heart of that lineup at two, three, and four, seeing them really step up and get wins in straight sets. All three of them, Maria, Hailey and Olivia, have been playing well this season, so it was cool to see them push through," said head coach Steve Ascher.

'It was also awesome to see Rosie fight back. She was down in that first set and fought back to get a tiebreaker and kept fighting the whole time. It didn't work out for us as a team, but Rosie put it all on the line. Seeing her lose was a bit gut wrenching in the end, but it was still a great college match."

In doubles, Grizzly No. 1 Kelsey Phillips returned from a bout with the flu to earn a win on court one with her partner Murphy, beating USU's Ozturk/Hilario pair 7-6 (5) in a tiebreaker for UM's lone win in the opening round, giving the Griz momentum heading into singles.

With Montana trailing 0-1 in the team score, Murphy put the Griz right back in the match with a dominant win on two, beating Laura Hilario 6-1, 6-1, to put her at 3-2 on the year at tie the dual at one.

Phillips then ran out of gas on court one, falling to Zeynep Ozturk 1-6, 2-6 to put the Aggies back on top 2-1.

The visitor's lead wouldn't last long, however, when Oosterbaan closed out a 6-4, 3-6 win on court four, overpowering Indya Nespor to tie the match 2-2.

Riding a wave of momentum, Goheen won in a first-set tiebreaker over Niyati Kukreti and cruised to a win in the second 7-6 (4), 6-3, on court three to put UM up 3-2 as courts five and six were just getting started.

Montana came out on the wrong end of yet another tiebreaker on court six to lose the lead, however with Shivika Agrawal filling in for the injured Grace Haugen and falling 3-6, 6-7 (3) to tie the team score 3-3.

That loss left the result of what could have been one of UM's biggest wins in recent years with Sterk on court five.

The native of Scotland was brave in her first set, fighting back from a 3-0 deficit and breaking Sanchez' serve to take her first lead at 6-5, eventually moving into a tiebreaker tied 6-6.

Sterk had match point at 6-4 in the breaker but found herself tied 6-6 after a pair of misses. Now against the serve, she slammed a forehand to go up 7-6, and eventually won the point with a backhand slice to claim the set 7-6 (7) in a thriller.

It was déjà vu all over again for Sterk in the second set, falling down 0-3, but clawing her way back into the set to tie it 4-4, eventually keeping it tied 5-5 and sending it to another tiebreaker. This time luck would not be with her as Sanchez broke Sterk's serve to go up 5-3, eventually winning the set 7-6 (5).

With all eyes on her, Sterk ran out of gas in the third and decisive set, having trouble with Sanchez' serve and eventually losing the set and match 7-6 (7), 6-7 (5), 6-3, as Montana fell 4-3 in the team score.

Montana now prepares for a road trip to the Palouse next weekend, taking on Lewis-Clark State on Friday in Lewiston and Washington State in Pullman on Saturday. UM then prepares to open Big Sky Conference play the first weekend in March in a two-match trip to Portland.

"It was a great environment in there today. They (USU) were really vocal off the court. It really spiced things up and turned the pressure up. I think getting used to that energy will help us heading into Big Sky play," added Ascher.

"So, just knowing we're right there with teams like Utah State and knowing we can continue to push like this and get better, I think will help us breakthrough."