Ducks down Griz in season opener

Friday, January 17

Eugene, Ore.

4:30 PM (MT)

Montana

Oregon

1/17/2025 8:03:00 PM | Women's Tennis

Box Score

By: Montana Sports Information

The top of Montana's lineup gave Oregon all it could handle in Eugene on Friday afternoon, but the Ducks would eventually overpower the Griz 4-0 in a dual played to clinch at UO's Student Tennis Center.

The loss in Montana's season-opener drops the Griz to 0-1 but gave the young squad the opportunity to knock the rust off from the winter break and test itself early against a Big Ten opponent.

With four underclassmen playing in their first dual as Grizzlies it was trial by fire against the veteran Ducks. Montana's two seniors and the defending Big Sky Freshman of the Year were up to the task, however, with some promising performances by the team's veterans.

"It's just such a stark difference between the fall and the spring. It's so much more intense. That's awesome because we're younger and newer, so it was so good for them to feel that. For them to get an understanding of that feeling was really good," said head coach Steve Ascher.

"Obviously, it was the first match of season and we needed to wake up the bear a little bit just in terms of level. But I think later in the doubles matches, we responded well, and I could see them starting to step up to that level of energy they needed to be competitive with Oregon."

In doubles, Montana's all-conference pair of Grace Haugen and Rosie Sterk jumped out to an early 3-0 lead on court one. Meanwhile Oregon cruised to a 6-0 win on court three followed by a 6-2 win on court two to clinch the point, however, and seized the momentum on court one, coming back for a 6-3 win to sweep the opening round.

In singles, Haugen got Montana's only set win of the day on court two, beating Oregon's Karin Young 6-2 in the first set, and not able to finish the match before it was clinched.

Kelsey Phillips, UM's star sophomore, made her return to court one and nearly pulled off the upset of the day, forcing a tiebreaker against Duck No. 1 Marjorie Souza before falling 7-6 (5) in the first set, and also going unfinished at clinch.

While the top two Grizzlies were locked in an even battle, the depth of the Duck lineup showed its strength, earning straight set wins on courts five, three, and four to clinch the 4-0 win for the home team when play was halted.

Grizzly freshman Kate Prichard was also putting in a strong showing at clinch, winning four games in the first set against Bridget Mihulka and remaining tied in the second, down 4-6, 3-3 when play was stopped.

"The team responded really well in singles, just playing smart and going after it from the beginning. I think they started playing with a lot of clarity and it was giving them a chance. They were working to figure out their opponents and push them into tricky positions, so I thought they did a really good job raising their games as they went along," added Ascher.

The playing field gets a little more even for the Griz on Saturday as UM gets set to play Big Sky foe Portland State in a nonconference match on a neutral court in Eugene to cap the road trip. Opening serves are set to go up at 10 a.m. local time.