Griz storm back to keep title hopes alive

Saturday, April 13

Missoula, Mont.

10:30 AM

Montana

Weber State

4/13/2024 6:24:00 PM | Women's Tennis

Box Score

By: Montana Sports Information

With seniors coming up big on senior weekend, the Montana women's tennis pulled off one of the most improbable comebacks possible in college tennis to keep their Big Sky championship hopes alive on Saturday.

Montana found itself down 3-0 to Weber State after a loss in doubles and losses in two of the top three singles matches. But the Griz bounced back in dramatic fashion to beat the Wildcats 4-3, sweeping the remainder of the singles round with three of the last four matches going to a third set.

Now at 5-1 in conference play (7-10 overall), the Griz solidified their grip on first place in the Big Sky standings after knocking-off the third place Wildcats, who fall to 4-3 (12-8 overall).

Montana can now clinch least a share of its first Big Sky championship in a decade on Sunday afternoon when the Griz host second place Idaho State (4-2 BSC, 10-5 overall) at the Peak Racquet Club in Missoula at 2 p.m.

The Griz dug a hole to start the dual, losing all three doubles matches to give the Wildcats a 1-0 team lead heading into singles. Led by two-time defending Big Sky Coach of the Year RuthAnn Allen, Weber State then took two quick wins in singles to extend the lead to 3-0.

In singles, defending Big Sky MVP Ana Morett ended UM freshman Kelsey Phillips' six match win streak win streak with a 6-1, 6-1, win on court two that put WSU up 2-0. Soon after Grace Haugen fell to Dylan Lolofie on court three to put Weber up 3-0, needing just one victory in the final four matches to clinch the dual.

That's when the comeback started.

Senior Maria Goheen bounced back from a first set loss to beat Sydney Schnell 2-6, 6-3, 6-1 on court four to help steal the momentum back for Montana.

Meanwhile, last week's Big Sky Player of the Week Hailey Murphy won her first set and bounced back from a loss in the second to beat Megan Davies 6-4, 5-7, 6-3 on court one to cut the team lead to 3-2, and Montana's turnaround was officially underway.

Murphy and Davies put on a show for the fans in attendance, battling through long points, moving each other side to side with accurate passing, each using a powerful backhand to their advantage. The Grizzly sophomore improved to 14-4 and 6-0 in conference singles on the season with eight straight wins.

"Weber is a really good team. They're talented, they fight hard, play smart, and are well coached. So, that was special. We haven't had a match where we've been down so much and pulled off the comeback. We were in that hole and we lost momentum, but Hailey winning the first set and Maria battling back in the second allowed them to play more free, go after shots and take some risks," said head coach Steve Ascher.

"I think in doubles we were tentative. Like, 'hey, we're 4-1, we've had a good run, we're up in the standings,' and those kinds of things. I think we shed that, and it allowed us to get back to playing free, go for our shots, and think a little clearer.

"It was magical."

On court six, Rosie Sterk took the momentum swing and ran with it, powering past Li Yang 6-0 in the first set and capping the win with a 6-4 win in the second set that tied the team score 3-3.

That left the outcome of the match resting with UM's other senior in the lineup, Olivia Oosterbaan on court five.

Oosterbaan started her match against Sicely Ferreira strong, jumping out to a 6-3 win in the first set to help boost the momentum for Sterk and looking like she'd breeze to a win in the second.

With both players battling through razor-thin margins and missing shots by mere inches, Schnell had other ideas in the second set. Oosterbaan built a 5-2 lead, but mounting errors allowed the visitor to climb her way back in it, eventually breaking the Grizzly senior's serve to win the set 7-5, and looking like Montana's comeback could fall short.

Oosterbaan wouldn't let that happen though, breaking Schnell's serve on deuce point in the first game of the third set to go up 1-0, holding serve on deuce point to take a 2-0 lead, and breaking Schnell again to go up 3-0 and seize control. She'd go on to clinch the win for Montana with a 6-2 win in the third, and her teammates surrounding her to celebrate.

"I'm so happy that we got to pull that out. We've been working so hard this week, so it's just awesome to keep the momentum going. Just the confidence within my teammates helped me win that one. I just was doing it for them. I feel like that's kind of the way we've been winning. We've been winning as a team," said Oosterbaan.

"Steve and I worked a lot on just hitting a ton of volume, a ton of reps, just making sure that I'm getting to every ball, digging in deep, and just making sure that I'm focused and dialed in on every point. I didn't know what was coming off her racquet, so I had to really move my feet, be ready for anything, and pick out good targets."

UP NEXT: The Griz host Idaho State on Sunday afternoon to cap a Montana tennis doubleheader, with the men playing Northern Arizona at 9 a.m. ISU has split its last two matches, losing to Weber State 4-3 on March 30 but beating Eastern Washington 6-1 in Pocatello a week later.

A win would guarantee at least a share of the Big Sky regular season championship, something not achieved by Montana since 2014.