Phillips and Anand win ISU Invite as Griz open fall season

Friday, September 12

Pocatello, Idaho

All Day

Montana

Idaho State Invite

Phillips and Anand win ISU Invite as Griz open fall season

9/15/2025 5:11:00 PM | Women's Tennis

By: Montana Sports Information

The Montana women's tennis team took a win in the Orange Main Draw of the Idaho State Invitational and sophomore Kate Prichard cruised through her bracket undefeated in singles as the Grizzlies opened the fall tournament season in Pocatello over the weekend.

UM was one of three teams represented at ISU alongside players from Utah Tech and the host Bengals. The tournament was a mini-dual format where two players from each school paired up to compete as a two-person team, playing a doubles match and two singles matches against another two-person team. The team that won two of the three points advanced in the bracket.

Grizzly junior Kelsey Phillips teamed up with freshman newcomer Meghna Anand to go a combined 7-2 in the orange draw, eventually beating ISU's Shalakhova/Shoybek pair to win the tournament – the first collegiate event of Anand's career.

The pair opened the tournament with a 3-0 sweep of Idaho State's Day/Zarovna pair, pulling out an 8-6 win in doubles before Phillips beat Millie Day 7-5, 6-2 and Anand blanked Veronika Zarovna in the second set 6-4, 6-0.

They followed that up with a 2-1 win over the Trailblazers' Berdecio/Sampere pair, rebounding from an 8-1 loss in doubles to win both singles matches and advance to the final. Anand beat Sampere in straight sets 6-1, 6-2, while Phillips bounced back from a first set loss to win 0-6, 6-2, 6-3.

They capped the tournament with a 3-0 sweep of ISU's Shalakhova/Shoybek pair on their home courts to take the tournament title. The Grizzly pair ground out an 8-4 doubles win before Phillips rolled in singles, beating Stefanya Shalakhova 6-2, 6-3. Anand sealed the Griz victory with a third set tiebreaker, beating Asem Shoybek in a marathon 6-7 (4-7), 6-3, 7-6 (10-8).

"The cool thing about sports is, every time you win a round you get to play something that's a little higher stake and hopefully there's some more pressure. How you handle that pressure is a big deal, and I was impressed," said head coach Steve Ascher.

"They were really good about just staying in the moment, and when they had opportunities, they knew what they needed to do. As you're watching them play, you could really see clarity in what they were trying to do out there strategically, which was awesome."

Ascher was particularly impressed with Anand, who came away from her first college tourney with some hardware.

"She has a good understanding of the game and seemed to really enjoy being in the moments where there was a little more pressure, a little more excitement. She buckled down and played really smart when it mattered. So as a freshman in her first tournament that was really nice to see," he added.

Prichard put in another strong outing for the Griz in Pocatello. The sophomore beat Utah Tech's Cameron Hendrix 6-3, 6-2 on Friday, ISU's Victoria Grymalska in three sets 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 on Saturday, and capped the sweep with a 6-3, 6-1 win over UT's Nutsa Tsintsadze on Sunday.

"I've noticed an elementary shift in her confidence. She's at a different level in terms of her intention and how she's hitting a ball and how she's holding herself with confidence. It's been cool, and it really translated to the court. She's moving better, defending the court better, and moving forward into the mid court and going after shots much better. I was impressed," said Ascher.

Montana now prepares to head to the Palouse Sept. 26-28 for Washington State's Cougar Classic before the premiere event on the fall tournament schedule – the ITA Mountain Regional in Provo, Utah, in the first week of October.

Montana Results – Idaho State Invitational

Day 1, Friday, Sept. 12 Results
• Kelsey Phillips/Meghna Anand (UM) def. Millie Day/Veronika Zarovna (ISU), 3-0
Doubles: Phillips/Anand (UM) def. Day/Zarovna (ISU) 8-6
Singles 1: Phillips (UM) def. Day (ISU) 7-5, 6-2
Singles 2: Anand (UM) def. Zarovna (ISU) 6-4, 6-0

• Sydney Morris/Emmy Richards (ISU) def. Monika Fizova/Kamila Slovakova (UM), 3-0
Doubles: Morris/Richards (ISU) def. Fizova/Slovakova (UM) 8-1
Singles 1: Morris (ISU) def. Fizova (UM) 6-1, 6-2
Singles 2: Richards (ISU) def. Slovakova (UM) 6-1, 6-4

• Cameron Hendrix/Nicole Kells (UT) def. Kate Prichard/Kaylin Kielty (UM), 2-1
Doubles: Hendrix/Kells (UT) def. Prichard/Kielty (UM) 8-4
Singles 1: Prichard (UM) def. Hendrix (UT) 6-3, 6-2
Singles 2: Kells (UT) def. Kielty (UM) 6-4, 6-1

Day 2, Saturday, Sept. 13 Results
• Kelsey Phillips/Meghna Anand (UM) def. Mariana Zurita Berdecio/Ana Gutierrez Sampere (UT), 2-1
Doubles: Phillips/Anand (UM) def. Zurita Berdecio/Gutierrez Sampere (UT) 8-5
Singles 1: Phillips (UM) def. Zurita Berdecio (UT) 0-6, 6-2, 6-3
Singles 2: Anand (UM) def. Gutierrez Sampere (UT) 6-1, 6-2

• Evelina Zhuk/Victoria Grymalska (ISU) def. Monika Fizova/Kamila Slovakova (UM), 2-1
Doubles: Zhuk/Grymalska (ISU) def. Fizova/Slovakova (UM) 8-5
Singles 1: Fizova (UM) def. Zhuk (ISU) 6-4, 7-5
Singles 2: Grymalska (ISU) def. Slovakova (UM) 6-4, 6-0

• Kate Prichard/Kaylin Kielty (UM), Victoria Grymalska/Journee Hartman (ISU), 3-0
Doubles: Prichard/ Kielty (UM) def. Prichard/ Kielty (UM) 8-4
Singles 1: Prichard (UM) def. Grymalska (ISU) 6-3, 4-6, 6-2
Singles 2: Kielty (UM) def. Hartman (ISU) 6-1, 6-1

Day 3, Sunday, Sept. 14 Results
• Maya Inouye/Nicole Kells (UT) def. Monika Fizova/Kamila Slovakova (UM), 3-0
Doubles: Inouye/Kells (UT) def. Fizova/Slovakova (UM) 8-4
Singles 1: Inouye (UT) def. Fizova (UM) 6-3, 3-6, 6-2
Singles 2: Kells (UT) def. Slovakova (UM) 6-0, 6-0

• Kate Prichard/Kaylin Kielty (UM) def. Nutsa Tsintsadze/Raquel Roshak (UT), 2-1
Doubles: Prichard / Kielty (UM) def. Tsintsadze/Roshak (UT) 8-6
Singles 1: Prichard (UM) def. Tsintsadze (UT) 6-3, 6-1
Singles 2: Roshak (UT) def. Kielty (UM) (Default)

• Kelsey Phillips/Meghna Anand (UM) def. Stefanya Shalakhova/Asem Shoybek (ISU), 3-0
Doubles: Phillips/Anand (UM) def. Shalakhova/Shoybek (ISU) 8-4
Singles 1: Phillips (UM) def. Shalakhova (ISU) 6-2, 6-3
Singles 2: Anand (UM) def. Shoybek (ISU) 6-7 (4-7), 6-3, 7-6 (10-8)

Draw Champions:
Orange: Phillips/Anand (UM)
Black: Morris/Richards (ISU)
Bengal: Hendrix/Kells (UT)