Griz sweep postseason awards, put six on All-Big Sky teams

After a championship year that nobody predicted the Montana women's tennis team hauled in the postseason hardware on Wednesday, sweeping the individual awards and landing six players on one of three all-conference teams, the Big Sky announced in its annual awards release.

Sophomore Hailey Murphy went undefeated in league play and was a unanimous selection for Big Sky MVP, Kelsey Phillips came through time and time again in the clutch to be named Big Sky Freshman of the Year, and for the third time in his career Steve Ascher was voted Big Sky Coach of the Year by his peers around the league.

Murphy was also a unanimous first team all-conference selection in singles, Phillips earned second team singles honors, and together they were named second team all-conference as a doubles pair. Rosie Sterk and Grace Haugen capped Montana's haul with a doubles all-conference honorable mention.

The postseason accolades represent a tip of the cap from coaches around the conference for a surprising run to UM's second regular season conference title in program history.

Picked to finish fifth in the Big Sky preseason poll, Montana beat the odds in 2024, starting the year slow at 2-9, but finishing with a flurry of big wins when it mattered most at 8-11 overall and 6-2 in league play to win a three-way share of the title.

The Griz played David to the Big Sky's Goliath all season long, beating six-time preseason favorite Northern Arizona, then first place and co-league champion Sacramento State, defending champion Weber State, and finished the year off with a dominant win over rival Montana State in Bozeman, to name just a few important victories.

"What a season. None of these awards happen without the team's success," said Ascher.

"We went through a lot of adversity early in the season and it was a hard schedule. But I knew that they needed a hard schedule because the parity in the conference, obviously with three teams winning the regular season title, you weren't going get through the conference without sharpening your steel, so to speak, through some fire of adversity and through hard matches early on.

"We played so many 4-3 matches early and when the conference season came, they handled the pressure well and we won. So, it was great to see them step up and succeed in those moments, and to then to be rewarded with the conference awards, it's unbelievable actually."

Murphy was perhaps the biggest revelation in the Big Sky this season. After going 7-9 and 2-5 as a freshman, the native of Calgary was nothing short of dominant in her second year as a Grizzly, going 16-3 overall and posting an unblemished 8-0 conference record.

Her 2024 resume included wins over the who's who of Rocky Mountain collegiate tennis, including nonconference victories over players from Gonzaga, Cal Poly, Utah State, Washington State, New Mexico, and New Mexico State. She also beat last year's Big Sky Freshman of the Year Pat Niewiadomska of NAU and four of this year's other six first-team all-conference picks.

Murphy is now one of just four Big Sky MVPs in Montana history. Hailey Driver, now an assistant coach for the Griz, was league MVP in 2014, and Vanessa Castellano was MVP in back-to-back years in 1996 and 1997.

"Every time she'd take the court she played so well and competed so well and grew as a tennis player. Her freedom to let her game shine, go for her shots, and really be aggressive under pressure has just been a joy to watch. That's a huge accolade," said Ascher.

Murphy earned the first Big Sky Player of the Week honors of her career on April 10 after going undefeated against Sac State and NAU in the same weekend, beating the Hornets' Mayya Gorbunova in a three-set thriller 6-1, 6-7 (1), 6-4, and dominating Niewiadomska 6-3, 6-1.

Phillips found her footing on court two this season after swapping with Murphy for first line duties. The native of Minnetonka, Minnesota, caught fire late in the year, winning eight of her last nine singles matches with four coming in three sets and two being pulled out by a tiebreaker.

She finished the regular season at 9-8 overall and 6-2 in conference play while going 8-3 overall on line two in her first season in maroon and silver.

"Kelsey came here, and I think made some great adjustments. Just to watch her adapt as a freshman, especially high in the lineup and go 6-2 on courts one and two in singles throughout the year has been amazing. And she pulled out some amazing three set comeback wins, so that's been huge for her growth and huge for our team as well," said Ascher.

Murphy and Phillips partnered to lead Montana's charge in doubles on court one, helping the Griz win six of their last 10 opening round points. They capped the regular season at 7-11 overall together and 4-4 in league play to earn second team honors.

This is the second all-conference honor or Murphy's career after going 5-2 as a freshman to earn a doubles honorable mention.

Sterk and Haugen also repeat as all-conference honorees in their junior season after going 9-7 overall and 6-2 in league play together on court three.

In 2023, Sterk was a first-team doubles pick as a sophomore with her partner Lauren Dunlap after the pair posted an impressive 13-6 overall record and went 6-2 together in league play.

Haugen was a second-team all-conference doubles pick as a freshman with Dunlap going 7-2 together. 2022 was a big year for her, earning an ITA top-20 regional ranking, and earning first team singles honors as well.

The native of Cowichan Bay, B.C. was named Big Sky Player of the Week for a second time in her career after Montana's win over Montana State last week after blanking her doubles opponent and clinching the win over the Bobcats in three sets that also clinched a share of the conference title.

"Rosie and Grace were great in doubles this year. They set the tone for the season at Portland State with a 6-0 win and bookended the year with a 6-0 win in Bozeman. Doubles was a strength for us this year and they helped the team out a lot," added Ascher.

Then there is Ascher himself, who took home Coach of the Year Honors for the third time in his 15-year career after leading the Griz to their second conference title under his guidance. He won his first Coach of the Year award in 2012, and his second after winning the 2014 conference title.

He was quick to point to the players on the court and the support staff surrounding him as those equally responsible for the success of this year's squad.

"It's an honor. Honestly, it means a lot in terms of the work that the team has put in this year. It wouldn't come without their results. The team has been really receptive and accountable, taking discipline and ownership of the ideas we've thrown at them," he said.

"But it's also a reflection of the help I've received. I spent hours with (faculty athletics representative) Charlie Palmer, he gave me a lot of his time. We talked about process, and he was just awesome. A lot of the coaches too. Chris (Citowicki), the women's soccer program has been successful for some years now. They gave a bit of a template, and just bouncing ideas off them has been great. I've spent a lot of hours talking to Jason (Brown, men's tennis), Doug (Fraley, track), and Allison (Lawrence, volleyball) and I appreciate their patience.

"Lastly this wouldn't happen without Hailey Driver. She volunteers her time to coach the team and it frees me up to do new and different drills. She's worked really hard with Hailey, Kelsey and Grace, especially during matches. So, this wouldn't happen without them. It's a team effort."

Montana begins its quest for another Big Sky title on Friday in the semifinal round of the conference championship tourney. The Griz enter the tourney as the No. 2 seed and will face the highest remaining seed left standing after the first round of play at the Phoenix Tennis Center in Arizona.

2024 Big Sky Women's Tennis Award Winners
MVP: Hailey Murphy, Montana*
Freshman of the Year: Kelsey Phillips, Montana
Coach of the Year: Steve Ascher, Montana

* - unanimous selection

All-Big Sky Singles First Team
Megan Davies, Weber State*
Hailey Murphy, Montana*
Mayya Gorbunova, Sacramento State*
Marta Garcia-Reboredo, Montana State*
Lola O'Lideadha, Idaho State
Patrycja Niewiadomska, Northern Arizona
Ana Morett, Weber State

* - unanimous first-team selection

All-Big Sky Doubles First Team
Marta Garcia-Reboredo/Hudson Hawkins, Montana State*
Megan Davies/Ana Morett, Weber State*
Sol O'Lideadha/Lola O'Lideadha, Idaho State
Nika Beukers/Momoko Yoshimura, Portland State

* - unanimous first-team selection

All-Big Sky Singles Second Team
Kelsey Phillips, Montana
Sol O'Lideadha, Idaho State
Irene Riva, Sacramento State
Meg McCarty, Montana State
Naomi Schraeder, Idaho
Lou Baudouin, Sacramento State
Paula Dougherty, Montana State

All-Big Sky Doubles Second Team
Maddy Ferreros/Irene Riva, Sacramento State
Hailey Murphy/Kelsey Phillips, Montana
Asem Shoybek/Stefanya Shalakhova, Idaho State
Mayya Gorbunova/Lou Baudouin, Sacramento State

All-Big Sky Singles Honorable Mention
Daryna Shoshyna, Northern Arizona
Dylan Lolofie, Weber State
Stefanya Shalakhova, Idaho State
Isabella Foshee, Eastern Washington

All-Big Sky Doubles Honorable Mention
Dylan Lolofie/Sicely Ferreira, Weber State
Rosie Sterk/Grace Haugen, Montana

University of Montana Athletics

Griz sweep postseason awards, put six on All-Big Sky teams

Players Mentioned

Lauren Dunlap

Grace Haugen

Hailey Murphy

Kelsey Phillips

Rosie Sterk

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