Griz drop season opener to Zags

Sunday, January 18

Spokane, Wash.

Noon

Montana

Gonzaga

The Montana Grizzlies faced off with the New Mexico Lobos at PEAK Racquet Club on March 7, 2024 in Missoula, Montana.

Photo by: Coral Scoles-Coburn/University of Montana

1/18/2026 4:09:00 PM | Women's Tennis

Box Score

By: Montana Sports Information

The Montana women's tennis team opened the 2026 spring dual season with 7-0 loss to the Gonzaga Bulldogs on Sunday at GU's Stevens Tennis Center in Spokane.

The Griz dropped doubles matches on courts one and three while leading on court two as GU claimed the opening point. The Zags then took straight-set wins on five of the six singles courts to eventually sweep UM.

Grizzly freshman standout Meghna Anand took her first college match to a third set tiebreaker thanks to a win in the first set on court two, but fell just short of defeating Gonzaga senior Diana Yanotovskaya in a 10-point superbreaker, losing 7-5, 6-7(6), 0-1 (8).

Kelsey Phillips and Monika Fizova were also pushing for wins in their second sets that could have picked up team points for the Griz. On court one, Phillips was neck-and-neck with Emily Robertson in the second set before falling 3-6, 4-6. Fizova was also picking up momentum in the second set, but fell to Elizabeth Tindera 3-6, 4-6 on court four.

UM doubles pair Shivika Agrawal and Kate Prichard were on their way to a win on court two doubles but the Griz narrowly missed another victory when they were leading GU's Hayes/Zerpelloni pair 4-3 when the round was clinched for the home team.

"I thought this was a good first match of the season. We pushed Gonzaga into some close matches and will take away more lessons because some of the matches were close. We were also able to see the things we need to go back to practice and improve on before heading out in a couple of weeks before the next round of matches," said head coach Steve Ascher.

"We are excited to see how we can grow and progress within a couple of more weeks of training."

Montana now returns to the practice court for two weeks and prepares for a three-match road trip south on I-15 at the end of the month, facing Utah State, Utah, and Idaho State in a trio of nonconference duals set for Jan. 29 – Feb. 1.

Gonzaga 7, Montana 0
Stevens Tennis Center, Spokane Wash.
1/18/26

Doubles
1: Ella Nielsen / Emily Robertson (GU) def. Meghna Anand / Kelsey Phillips (UM) 6-1
2: Rose Hayes / Sveva Zerpelloni (GU) vs Shivika Agrawal / Kate Prichard (UM) 3-4 UF
3: Elizabeth Tindera / Diana Yanotovskaya (GU) def. Paige Bott / Kaylin Kielty (UM) 6-3
Order of finish: 1,3

Singles
1: Emily Robertson (GU) def. Kelsey Phillips (UM) 6-3, 6-4
2: Diana Yanotovskaya (GU) def. Meghna Anand (UM) 5-7, 7-6(6), 1-0 (8)
3: Rose Hayes (GU) def. Kate Prichard (UM) 6-3, 6-3
4: Elizabeth Tindera (GU) def. Monika Fizova (UM) 6-3, 6-4
5: Sveva Zerpelloni (GU) def. Shivika Agrawal (UM) 6-1, 6-2
6: Karla Brown (GU) def. Paige Bott (UM) 6-2, 6-2
Order of finish: 6, 5, 3, 1, 4, 2