Saturday, April 12
Missoula, Mont.
2 PM
Montana
4
vs
3
Montana State
Griz bounce back, beat Cats for third-straight year
4/12/2025 9:51:00 PM | Women's Tennis
You know it's a big win when your teammates accidentally knock the wind out of you in the post-clinch mob. That kind of excitement is reserved for rivalry matches.
Montana Freshman Kate Prichard had to take a moment to catch her breath before shaking her opponent's hand on Saturday after clinching a thrilling, come-from-behind college tennis dual in the third set over in-state rival Montana State because the clinch what just that clutch.
With three-set heroics from a pair of freshmen at the bottom of the lineup, the Grizzly women's tennis team bounced back to upset the Bobcats 4-3 after trailing virtually the entire match at the Peak Racquet Club in Missoula.
Montana saved its best performance of the year for the biggest match on the calendar, rebounding from losses in the doubles round and two singles matches with a pair of three set wins at the bottom of the lineup from a pair of freshmen to earn the team victory.
With UM trailing 3-2, Olivia Moir powered past MSU's Kavya Khirwar on court five in the third set to tie the dual at three. Moments later it was Prichard who knocked-off Bobcat senior Andrea Cuquerellard in her third set to clinch for the Griz, and chaos ensued.
"It just made me really happy. That's what college tennis is about, and I've never had any experience like that, so I'm still just kind of in shock," said Prichard, still catching her breath after the win.
"Oh my goodness, it just feels great. This is the first opportunity I've had to help the team in that way. It was a lot of pressure, but I'm glad we were able to succeed under that pressure."
It's the third-straight win for Montana over Montana State in the annual Brawl of the Wild dual as the Grizzlies improve to 4-13 on the year and 2-5 in Big Sky play with their first home win of the season. The Bobcats fall to 9-10 and 3-4 in league play.
"You know it's always going to be tight against MSU, and It's interesting to see how players respond to pressure. So, I was just really proud of how the team responded to pressure today. Things we've been working on over the last three months showed today. Things like discipline – unbelievable discipline in their shot selection – their composure, and their ability to go after shots. They had a lot of bravery and courage, and they played with joy," said head coach Steve Ascher, who remained unbeaten by third-year MSU head coach Suzie Woodman.
"Montana State is a really good team, but I think playing with joy kept us a little more loose today, and that was special. We're down two-three, then having it come down to two freshmen who have been really good at practice and committing to the process – for them to step up was pretty sweet to see."
Montana started behind in the dual with a loss in the doubles round, getting swept with MSU wins on all three courts that put the visitors from Bozeman out to a 1-0 team lead. 6-2 wins for the Bobcats on courts two and three clinched the point for MSU while a rare loss for Grace Haugen and Rosie Sterk on court one made it a sweep.
Montana came out swinging in singles, however, winning first sets on three of the top four courts to give the Griz a much-needed boost of momentum.
UM ace Grace Haugen continued her stellar senior campaign, powering past MSU senior Marta Garcia-Reboredo 6-3, 7-5, to tie the match 1-1.
Montana then took a brief team lead with a win in the first of five three-set matches as fellow senior Rosie Sterk won her second conference singles match of the year with a 6-1, 2-6, 6-3 victory over Angel Bean on court three to make it 2-1.
The lead wouldn't last long, however as the visitors rattled off two singles wins in short order to regain the lead 3-2. UM sophomore Kelsey Phillips won her first set but was worn down by MSU's Meg McCarty 6-4, 1-6, 1-6. Freshman Monika Fizova also got a set win in the second, but was eventually beaten by Hudson Hawkins 2-6, 7-5, 3-6.
By the time those matches had finished, however, Moir and Prichard had already worked third way to first set wins on courts five and six, and what looked like a Grizzly loss was all of a sudden up for grabs.
Moir and Khirwar had been testing each other throughout the match with long rallies and powerful returns. After dropping her second set, Moir was able to break the visitor's serve early in the third to go up 3-1, eventually leading to a 6-1, 3-6, 6-2 win that tied the match 3-3.
After nearly four hours of action, Prichard then cliched the win moments later on court six when she broke Cuquerellard's serve to go up 4-1 in the third before going on to win the match 6-3, 2-6, 6-4.
Montana now turns its attention to its final regular season match of the year when Eastern Washington comes to Missoula on April 20, with the Griz needing a win for a chance at claiming the sixth and final spot at the Big Sky Tournament in Phoenix at the end of the month.
Montana Freshman Kate Prichard had to take a moment to catch her breath before shaking her opponent's hand on Saturday after clinching a thrilling, come-from-behind college tennis dual in the third set over in-state rival Montana State because the clinch what just that clutch.
With three-set heroics from a pair of freshmen at the bottom of the lineup, the Grizzly women's tennis team bounced back to upset the Bobcats 4-3 after trailing virtually the entire match at the Peak Racquet Club in Missoula.
Montana saved its best performance of the year for the biggest match on the calendar, rebounding from losses in the doubles round and two singles matches with a pair of three set wins at the bottom of the lineup from a pair of freshmen to earn the team victory.
With UM trailing 3-2, Olivia Moir powered past MSU's Kavya Khirwar on court five in the third set to tie the dual at three. Moments later it was Prichard who knocked-off Bobcat senior Andrea Cuquerellard in her third set to clinch for the Griz, and chaos ensued.
"It just made me really happy. That's what college tennis is about, and I've never had any experience like that, so I'm still just kind of in shock," said Prichard, still catching her breath after the win.
"Oh my goodness, it just feels great. This is the first opportunity I've had to help the team in that way. It was a lot of pressure, but I'm glad we were able to succeed under that pressure."
It's the third-straight win for Montana over Montana State in the annual Brawl of the Wild dual as the Grizzlies improve to 4-13 on the year and 2-5 in Big Sky play with their first home win of the season. The Bobcats fall to 9-10 and 3-4 in league play.
"You know it's always going to be tight against MSU, and It's interesting to see how players respond to pressure. So, I was just really proud of how the team responded to pressure today. Things we've been working on over the last three months showed today. Things like discipline – unbelievable discipline in their shot selection – their composure, and their ability to go after shots. They had a lot of bravery and courage, and they played with joy," said head coach Steve Ascher, who remained unbeaten by third-year MSU head coach Suzie Woodman.
"Montana State is a really good team, but I think playing with joy kept us a little more loose today, and that was special. We're down two-three, then having it come down to two freshmen who have been really good at practice and committing to the process – for them to step up was pretty sweet to see."
Montana started behind in the dual with a loss in the doubles round, getting swept with MSU wins on all three courts that put the visitors from Bozeman out to a 1-0 team lead. 6-2 wins for the Bobcats on courts two and three clinched the point for MSU while a rare loss for Grace Haugen and Rosie Sterk on court one made it a sweep.
Montana came out swinging in singles, however, winning first sets on three of the top four courts to give the Griz a much-needed boost of momentum.
UM ace Grace Haugen continued her stellar senior campaign, powering past MSU senior Marta Garcia-Reboredo 6-3, 7-5, to tie the match 1-1.
Montana then took a brief team lead with a win in the first of five three-set matches as fellow senior Rosie Sterk won her second conference singles match of the year with a 6-1, 2-6, 6-3 victory over Angel Bean on court three to make it 2-1.
The lead wouldn't last long, however as the visitors rattled off two singles wins in short order to regain the lead 3-2. UM sophomore Kelsey Phillips won her first set but was worn down by MSU's Meg McCarty 6-4, 1-6, 1-6. Freshman Monika Fizova also got a set win in the second, but was eventually beaten by Hudson Hawkins 2-6, 7-5, 3-6.
By the time those matches had finished, however, Moir and Prichard had already worked third way to first set wins on courts five and six, and what looked like a Grizzly loss was all of a sudden up for grabs.
Moir and Khirwar had been testing each other throughout the match with long rallies and powerful returns. After dropping her second set, Moir was able to break the visitor's serve early in the third to go up 3-1, eventually leading to a 6-1, 3-6, 6-2 win that tied the match 3-3.
After nearly four hours of action, Prichard then cliched the win moments later on court six when she broke Cuquerellard's serve to go up 4-1 in the third before going on to win the match 6-3, 2-6, 6-4.
Montana now turns its attention to its final regular season match of the year when Eastern Washington comes to Missoula on April 20, with the Griz needing a win for a chance at claiming the sixth and final spot at the Big Sky Tournament in Phoenix at the end of the month.
That's the CLINCHER over the CATS from Kate Prichard!! 😤#GoGriz pic.twitter.com/vyJtwOaUu2
— Montana Griz Women's Tennis (@MontanaGrizWTEN) April 13, 2025
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
2,3,1
#1 Singles Match
12
Mar Garcia-Reboredo / 0 [MSU]
35
67
#2 Singles Match
123
Meg McCarty / 0 [MSU]
466
611
#3 Singles Match
123
Angel Bean / 0 [MSU]
163
626
#4 Singles Match
123
Hudson Hawkins / 0 [MSU]
656
273
#5 Singles Match
123
Kavya Khirwar / 0 [MSU]
162
636
#6 Singles Match
123
Andrea Cuquerella / 0 [MSU]
364
626
Order of Finish:
1,3,2,4,5,6
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
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