Griz set to open conference play in two match trip to Utah

Paced by unbeaten Grizzly senior Grace Haugen, the defending Big Sky champion Montana women's tennis team officially begins its quest to bring another title back to Missoula this week with the start of conference play.

After a flurry of matches to open the year followed by a three-week training block, the Griz head south this weekend for a pair of duals in the Beehive State.

Montana (1-4) opens its Big Sky slate on Saturday in Ogden, taking on the 2023 conference tourney champs Weber State (0-9) in the league opener for both squads. UM then heads north to take on Utah State (2-3) in Logan in a nonconference match to cap the trip. Opening serves in both matches go up at 10 a.m., with links to live coverage of the Utah State match available at GoGriz.com.

The Grizzlies last took the court on Jan. 31 when they beat NAIA Lewis-Clark State 7-0 in Idaho for the first team win of the season. Before that they ran a gauntlet, facing Oregon, Colorado State, and Air Force on the road in three of the first four matches of the season.

It's a schedule designed for this very moment, to hit the ground running with rested bodies when the league slate rolls around and it's time to chase another title.

"Obviously it was good have some time to build more strength and get ourselves a little more prepared to go the long haul. We're playing every single weekend till the end of the season now, so, I think the break gave us a chance to solidify where we're at mentally, which is good," said head coach Steve Ascher.

"We're going there and we're going to compete, put our best selves out on the court and get after it. We're excited to kick off conference play, especially on the road. We've got to pick up some road wins like we did last year to win a championship, so let's get after it."

One of Montana's shining stars early in the season has been Haugen, who went undefeated in singles and doubles on the trip to Colorado to win Big Sky Player of the Week honors for the third time in her career. Prior to that she won a nonconference match against Portland State and was leading her opponent from Oregon when the match was clinched.

She enters league play sitting at 3-0 in singles and 3-1 in doubles on the season so far. But go back further and her record reveals one of the hottest streaks on program history.

You have to go back to April 13, 2024, to find the last time she lost a singles match in a college dual, now riding a streak of six-straight wins. She finished last season with three-consecutive wins and player of the week honors after clinching the win over Montana State that earned UM a share of the regular season conference title.

As the heart of the 2025 schedule rolls around, she's showing no signs of letting up. While tennis is very much a physical sport, she credits the work she's put in between her ears for the win streak.

"Over the summer I really worked on changing my mindset and being calmer on the court. In the past, I tended to have a hot personality. I think working on that, taking each match point by point, and realizing that a match is just a match, a tennis player is just a tennis player, and you got to do what you got to do to find a way to win, and that's all you can do. So, I've just been trying to keep that mindset throughout all my matches, and it's been working out so far," said Haugen.

"I think keeping the variation from my highs and lows in between points is more stable and centered. I obviously still get excited when I win good points, but I'm not letting my emotions get too low because you don't have a lot of time in tennis to be down and come back up. So, I think I've just been working on studying my emotions, and that's helped."

Haugen has also partnered with fellow senior Rosie Sterk in doubles to go on a three-match win streak together, leading the team at 3-1 on the year in the opening round. Sterk has gone one better, sitting at 4-1 in doubles as an individual after playing in all five of UM's duals with just one loss.

SCOUTING THE WILDCATS: Following the departure of former Weber State coach and 2023's Big Sky Coach of the Year Ruth Ann Allen to lead the Utah Utes, the Wildcats enter this week on a skid at 0-9 in the midst of a brutal schedule. WSU has challenged itself against the likes of BYU, Boise State, UNLV, New Mexico, New Mexico State, and Santa Clara and come up short each time. The young squad with four underclassmen on the six-person team is led by sophomore Sidney Schnell with a pair of singles wins on court one.

SCOUTING THE AGGIES: On paper, Utah State also presents an opportunity for the Griz to pick up a win this week with the Aggies sitting at 2-3 on the season to date. USU started the year at 1-3 with three-consecutive losses to Montana State, South Dakota and Utah, with the Bobcats blanking them 7-0 in Bozeman.

The Griz are very familiar with the Aggies as well and will be looking for a little revenge in Logan. Montana fell to Utah State in a 3-4 nailbiter last season in Missoula that wasn't decided until the third set of the final match.

UP NEXT: Montana returns to the road next week traveling to Spokane for a pair of matches, set to take on Gonzaga and Seattle U in a neutral site dual at GU's Stevens Tennis Center.

Griz set to open conference play in two match trip to Utah

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Players Mentioned

Grace Haugen

Rosie Sterk

University of Montana Athletics