Griz close season with win over Weber

Saturday, April 18

Missoula, Mont.

10:30 AM

Montana

Weber State

4/18/2026 4:36:00 PM | Women's Tennis

Box Score

By: Montana Sports Information

The Montana women's tennis team earned a cathartic win to close a tough season on Saturday, beating Weber State 5-2 at the Peak Racquet Club in Missoula.

Montana opened the match with a clean win in the doubles round before Kelsey Phillips capped her season unbeaten in Big Sky play on court one singles, a rare achievement for any player in the league.

Then it was a pair of freshmen that came through in the clutch for the Griz, with Meghna Anand earning a straight set win and Kamila Slovakova bouncing back for a win in three sets to clinch the victory for UM.

On senior day, it was senior Shivika Agrawal who earned UM's fifth team point with a win on court six in her final college tennis match to make it a 5-2 team score.

The Griz put a bow on the 2026 season at 3-15 after earning their first Big Sky win against WSU. The Wildcats now travel to Bozeman on Sunday at 2-15 and 0-7 in league play to finish their season against the Bobcats.

"It was a great win. Obviously coming out and sweeping the doubles was really important and a great start to the match. Then the two freshmen really stepping up was great. Meghna's composure and clarity playing today was really good. Then Kami (Slovakova) lost the first set, and she could have taken many different paths but found the strength and courage to go forward and really compete. It's the best I've seen her play all season," said head coach Steve Ascher.

"For both freshmen to pull out the team win and our first conference win of the season I think that's a special moment for both of them."

Montana opened the match with a tense sweep of the doubles round to go up 1-0 in the early going.

Kate Prichard and Slovakova breezed past the Johnson/Aleksandrowicz pair 6-1 on court three to put UM on the front foot, but the fight was on over on courts one and two, tied late in both sets.

Eventually thought it was Phillps and Anand who finished strong on court one to seal the doubles point with a 6-4 win over the Bozinovska/Hill pair. Paige Bott and Kaylin Kielty also pulled out their match in a tiebreaker, pulling away from the Johnson/Valdivia-Rojas pair 7-6(3) in the extra frame and UM took the momentum into singles.

Weber State would halt that momentum, however, with Maggie Song beating Prichard on court three in straight sets 6-3, 6-3, to tie the team score at one-all.

That's when Anand wrestled the momentum back for the Griz, capping a dominant straight set win of her own over Paulina Aleksandrowicz on court two 6-2, 6-4, to put Montana back in the lead 2-1.

Phillips then accomplished something rare in college tennis, becoming just the second UM player in the last decade to run through the Big Sky undefeated at 8-0 with a 6-4, 6-1 win over Jessica Hill. She now finishes her career at UM with an excellent overall season at 12-6 with an unblemished league record.

It's a 180 from where she finished in 2025 when she suffered the sophomore slump at 3-11 and 1-7 in the conference, a letdown after a Big Sky Freshman of the Year season during the 2024 championship run where she went 9-9 and 6-2.

"Kelsey finishing the season undefeated is spectacular. The girl she played today was really good in the first set and made her have to work. That forehand slice had some real mojo on it, and it made Kelsey have to think and adjust. But once she did she got comfortable and finished off a great season," added Ascher.

"It's very rare you get the opportunity to do something special in life and she earned this through all her hard work and dedication this season."

After Phillips put UM up 3-1, it was Slovakova who bounced back from a loss in the first set and battled her way to a 2-6, 6-1, 6-4 win over Nataly Valdivia-Rojas to clinch the victory at 4-1 for UM.

Agrawal put the finishing touches on the Griz victory with a senior day win, beating Naomi Johnson in straight sets on court six 6-2, 6-4, while Kielty dropped a tough match on court five with a first set tiebreaker to make it a 5-2 final.

Montana now looks ahead to the 2026-27 season with five of the top six regulars in the lineup as a young team grows, returning two freshmen, two sophomores, and two juniors that saw frequent action at different points of the season.