Vandals mount comeback to beat Griz 4-3

Sunday, March 17

Moscow, Idaho

11 AM (MT)

Montana

Idaho

Rosie Sterk of the Montana Grizzlies hits the ball during a match against the Utah State Aggies on Feb. 16, 2024, at the PEAK Racquet Club in Missoula, Montana.

Photo by: Ella Palulis/University of Montana

3/17/2024 4:06:00 PM | Women's Tennis

Box Score

By: Montana Sports Information

The Montana women's tennis team built a 3-0 lead over Idaho in Moscow, but the Vandals stormed back with four wins at the bottom of the singles lineup to beat the Grizzlies 4-3 in a Big Sky Conference dual on Sunday.

The Griz won the doubles point and got wins on singles courts one and two to take a commanding lead over the hosts inside the Kibbie Dome, but losses on courts three through six cost UM the match. To get the win, Idaho mounted a comeback on courts three and five as well, with UM winning the first set but eventually losing in third sets on each.

Montana falls to 3-10 overall and 2-1 in league play after splitting the weekend road trip to Cheney and Moscow. The Vandals improve to 7-5 overall and 1-1 in conference play after losing to Montana State on Friday.

"That was an epic battle. We had opportunities to pull out another good road win and unfortunately, we couldn't find what we needed to get across the finish line. Hats off to Idaho for hanging in there and pulling it out," said head coach Steve Ascher.

Hailey Murphy was once again dominant for the Griz, partnering with Kelsey Phillips to take a 6-3 win in doubles and rolling past Selin Sepken 6-0, 6-3, in singles for her fourth-straight win.

Murphy, a sophomore from Calgary, extended her Big Sky-best singles record to 10-3, having won eight of her last nine matches and staying undefeated in conference play in both singles and doubles at 3-0.

Phillips has also come on strong as of late for the Griz with her third-straight win. The freshman beat Idaho's Lena Beckx in three sets 6-3, 1-6, 6-2, to improve to 2-1 in conference play, 4-7 overall, and 3-2 on court two.

Montana clinched the doubles point early, with Phillips and Murphy beating UI's Rodas/Schraeder pair 6-3, and Grace Haugen and Rosie Sterk clinching the opening point soon after with a 6-4 win over the Beckx/Starreveld pair to take a 1-0 team lead.

Murphy and Phillips then put the Griz within one win of clinching victory in singles after their wins on courts one and two, respectively. Then the Vandal comeback began.

Haugen was up a set on court three, but only won three games in the next two sets in a 4-6, 6-2, 6-1 comeback win for Diana Khaydarshina that made the team score 3-1.

Maria Goheen was the next to finish. The senior forced a tiebreaker in the first set and won five games in the second, but eventually fell to Ida Johansson 7-6 (4), 7-5, to cut the UM lead to 3-2.

Meanwhile on court four Olivia Oosterbaan had gotten off to a hot start with a 6-3 win in her first set, but Rodas Valentina produced another Vandal comeback, winning the second set 6-2 and the third 7-5 against the Grizzly senior's serve to tie the overall match 3-3.

Idaho clinched the win on court six, with Naomi Schraeder beating Rosie Sterk in straight sets 6-4, 6-2, to complete the comeback win.

Montana now turns their attention to one final nonconference dual against New Mexico State in Missoula on Saturday, March 23, before finishing the regular season with five-straight conference matches. The Griz and Aggies get underway at 9:30 a.m. at the Peak Racquet Club.