Photo by: Coral Scoles-Coburn/University of Montana
Griz head to Portland for pair of duals
2/29/2024 11:07:00 AM | Women's Tennis
The Montana women's tennis team opens Big Sky Conference play this week on a road trip to the Rose City.
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The Griz (1-7, 0-0 BSC) open the trip to Oregon with a tune-up at the University of Portland (5-5) on Friday at 11 a.m. (MT) before playing their first league dual at Portland State (3-5, 1-2 BSC) on Sunday at noon (MT). Links to live video and scoring feeds can be found on the team's schedule page at GoGriz.com.
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Montana is coming off a split trip to the Palouse where the Griz earned their first win of the season in a 7-0 sweep of Lewis-Clark State and dropped a 6-1 dual at Washington State.
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With ever-increasing parity in Pacific Northwest college tennis, Montana will be tasked with heading down to sea level to take on a pair of equally tough teams, with the Pilots having narrowly beat the Vikings 4-3 in late January.
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Portland, picked fifth in the WCC preseason poll, last played a Big Sky team on Feb. 16 when they beat Montana State 7-0 at home. The Pilots will be looking to get back in the win column, however, coming off two road losses to Washington (1-6) and San Diego State (2-5).
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The Vikings also enter the weekend with a win over MSU (4-3) on their record but are returning home after a pair of conference losses at Idaho State (3-4) and Weber State (1-6).
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Despite the 1-7 record, Montana has narrowly missed out on a couple big wins, falling in a nailbiter 3-4 against Utah State and 3-4 in a neutral match against North Dakota in recent weeks. Meaning the Griz will have to bring their A game to Portland.
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"Teams are so evenly matched now that the messaging to our team is, you just have to be in it and battle and battle and battle. That's where we're at right now. Who's going to be able to pull stuff out? And if you can pull off a road win right now, that's going to be priceless because everyone is so good at home. But if we have the right mentality it makes for such a sweet opportunity," said head coach Steve Ascher.
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"We want to put together good doubles. That's crucial because these matches are coming down to 4-3 so we want to find a way to earn the doubles point. Then just keep fighting and competing and finding ways to win three singles matches. Find a way to do what it takes to get over the line. We're not going to blow out teams, so we need to expect it to be a battle, expect tension and lean into it. Lean into the pressure and let's play."
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GRIZ TRACKS: Montana No. 2 Hailey Murphy has been UM's brightest star so far this season. The sophomore earned an upset win over Washington State No. 2 Yura Nakagawa to cap an undefeated weekend of singles for the Grizzlies last week to earn a nomination for Big Sky Player of the Week.
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The native of Calgary went 2-0 in singles and earned a win over LCSC in doubles with Kelsey Phillips to go 1-1, putting her individual record at 3-1 on the road trip.
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Murphy opened the weekend with a 6-1 win in doubles over the Warrior's Boylan/Molfe pair on court one. She then beat Lina Boylan in straight sets on court one 6-1, 6-0 in a 7-0 win for UM.
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She then pulled off Montana's biggest individual win of the season, handing Nakagawa just her second loss of the year in straight sets 6-2, 6-3, on court two.
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The wins improved Murphy to 6-2 on the year in singles, having now won four-straight and beaten opponents from Gonzaga, Cal Poly, EWU, Utah State, LCSC, and WSU.
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Grizzly seniors Maria Goheen and Olivia Oosterbaan enter the weekend with the second-best singles records for UM, with Goheen at 3-5 and Oosterbaan at 3-4.
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Goheen has been on a surge lately as a winner of three of her last four, while Oosterbaan has risen to the occasion with wins over Gonzaga, North Dakota, and Utah State
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SCOUTING THE PILOTS: Portland was picked fifth in the ultra-competitive WCC preseason poll this season, with national powerhouses Pepperdine and San Diego topping the list.
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The Pilots have pulled out 4-3 wins over two common opponents with UM to date, beating PSU and Washington State in Portland as well as a 7-0 win over Montana State.
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They're led by junior Sally Pethybridge who's gone 8-2 in singles this season and senior Iva Zelic who is at 7-1.
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SCOUTING THE VIKINGS: PSU was picked to finish eighth out of nine teams in the Big Sky preseason poll but have already proven the prognosticators wrong. The Vikings opened league play on Feb. 17 against Montana State – picked to finish ahead of UM at No. 4 in the preseason conference poll – and earned a 4-3 win over the Bobcats in Portland.
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Portland State returns three of the six player from last year's squad that beat UM 5-2 in Missoula and are led by freshman Scarlett Perkins who is 4-3 on the season in singles.
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UP NEXT:Â Montana returns home for a big-time nonconference match as undefeated regional powerhouse New Mexico (9-0) heads to Missoula for a one-off dual. The Griz and Lobos square off on Thursday, March 7 at 11 a.m. at the Peak Racquet Club. Admission is free.
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The Griz (1-7, 0-0 BSC) open the trip to Oregon with a tune-up at the University of Portland (5-5) on Friday at 11 a.m. (MT) before playing their first league dual at Portland State (3-5, 1-2 BSC) on Sunday at noon (MT). Links to live video and scoring feeds can be found on the team's schedule page at GoGriz.com.
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Montana is coming off a split trip to the Palouse where the Griz earned their first win of the season in a 7-0 sweep of Lewis-Clark State and dropped a 6-1 dual at Washington State.
Â
With ever-increasing parity in Pacific Northwest college tennis, Montana will be tasked with heading down to sea level to take on a pair of equally tough teams, with the Pilots having narrowly beat the Vikings 4-3 in late January.
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Portland, picked fifth in the WCC preseason poll, last played a Big Sky team on Feb. 16 when they beat Montana State 7-0 at home. The Pilots will be looking to get back in the win column, however, coming off two road losses to Washington (1-6) and San Diego State (2-5).
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The Vikings also enter the weekend with a win over MSU (4-3) on their record but are returning home after a pair of conference losses at Idaho State (3-4) and Weber State (1-6).
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Despite the 1-7 record, Montana has narrowly missed out on a couple big wins, falling in a nailbiter 3-4 against Utah State and 3-4 in a neutral match against North Dakota in recent weeks. Meaning the Griz will have to bring their A game to Portland.
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"Teams are so evenly matched now that the messaging to our team is, you just have to be in it and battle and battle and battle. That's where we're at right now. Who's going to be able to pull stuff out? And if you can pull off a road win right now, that's going to be priceless because everyone is so good at home. But if we have the right mentality it makes for such a sweet opportunity," said head coach Steve Ascher.
Â
"We want to put together good doubles. That's crucial because these matches are coming down to 4-3 so we want to find a way to earn the doubles point. Then just keep fighting and competing and finding ways to win three singles matches. Find a way to do what it takes to get over the line. We're not going to blow out teams, so we need to expect it to be a battle, expect tension and lean into it. Lean into the pressure and let's play."
Â
GRIZ TRACKS: Montana No. 2 Hailey Murphy has been UM's brightest star so far this season. The sophomore earned an upset win over Washington State No. 2 Yura Nakagawa to cap an undefeated weekend of singles for the Grizzlies last week to earn a nomination for Big Sky Player of the Week.
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The native of Calgary went 2-0 in singles and earned a win over LCSC in doubles with Kelsey Phillips to go 1-1, putting her individual record at 3-1 on the road trip.
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Murphy opened the weekend with a 6-1 win in doubles over the Warrior's Boylan/Molfe pair on court one. She then beat Lina Boylan in straight sets on court one 6-1, 6-0 in a 7-0 win for UM.
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She then pulled off Montana's biggest individual win of the season, handing Nakagawa just her second loss of the year in straight sets 6-2, 6-3, on court two.
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The wins improved Murphy to 6-2 on the year in singles, having now won four-straight and beaten opponents from Gonzaga, Cal Poly, EWU, Utah State, LCSC, and WSU.
Â
Grizzly seniors Maria Goheen and Olivia Oosterbaan enter the weekend with the second-best singles records for UM, with Goheen at 3-5 and Oosterbaan at 3-4.
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Goheen has been on a surge lately as a winner of three of her last four, while Oosterbaan has risen to the occasion with wins over Gonzaga, North Dakota, and Utah State
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SCOUTING THE PILOTS: Portland was picked fifth in the ultra-competitive WCC preseason poll this season, with national powerhouses Pepperdine and San Diego topping the list.
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The Pilots have pulled out 4-3 wins over two common opponents with UM to date, beating PSU and Washington State in Portland as well as a 7-0 win over Montana State.
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They're led by junior Sally Pethybridge who's gone 8-2 in singles this season and senior Iva Zelic who is at 7-1.
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SCOUTING THE VIKINGS: PSU was picked to finish eighth out of nine teams in the Big Sky preseason poll but have already proven the prognosticators wrong. The Vikings opened league play on Feb. 17 against Montana State – picked to finish ahead of UM at No. 4 in the preseason conference poll – and earned a 4-3 win over the Bobcats in Portland.
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Portland State returns three of the six player from last year's squad that beat UM 5-2 in Missoula and are led by freshman Scarlett Perkins who is 4-3 on the season in singles.
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UP NEXT:Â Montana returns home for a big-time nonconference match as undefeated regional powerhouse New Mexico (9-0) heads to Missoula for a one-off dual. The Griz and Lobos square off on Thursday, March 7 at 11 a.m. at the Peak Racquet Club. Admission is free.
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Players Mentioned
Griz Volleyball Press Conference - 10/6/25
Tuesday, October 07
Griz TV Live Stream
Monday, October 06
Montana vs Idaho St. Highlights
Sunday, October 05
Montana Volleyball Hype Video
Thursday, October 02