Phillips named Big Sky Player of the Week

Montana women's tennis ace Kelsey Philips remained undefeated in Big Sky play with a pair of impressive singles wins and clinched the doubles point against Idaho State over the course of two matches for the Griz last weekend.

She improved to 6-0 in conference singles with wins over the reigning Big Sky Player of the Week and last year's Big Sky Freshman of the Year to add to her tally of victories over the top players in the league.

As a result, for the first time in her three-year career Phillips was named the co-Big Sky Player of the Week, the league announced Wednesday. She shared the honor with ISU No. 2 Stefanya Shalakhova, who also went undefeated in singles over the weekend for the Bengals.

Phillips, a native of Excelsior, Minnesota, opened the weekend with a straight set win over Northern Arizona's Patrycja Niewiadomska on Saturday, handing the Lumberjack No. 1 her first conference loss of the season. Niewiadomska is a three-time All-Big Sky selection, a two-time conference player of the week this season, and was the 2023 conference Freshman of the Year. Phillips dominated her in the first set 6-2 and held strong in the second for a 7-5 win.

Against Idaho State on Sunday Phillips was again dominant in singles, defeating the reigning Freshman of the Year Millie Day in straight sets 6-2, 6-3, for her sixth-straight Big Sky victory.

Phillips and her partner Meghna Anand also clinched the doubles point for the Griz, pulling away in a tiebreaker to beat ISU's Shalakhova/Zarovna pair 7-6(5) to seal the opening point for UM.

With two duals left to play this season Phillips has beat the No. 1 player from Utah State, South Dakota, No. 50 Sacramento State, Idaho, Eastern Washington, Portland State, NAU, and Idaho State, among others. She now sits at 10-6 overall in singles and 6-0 in Big Sky singles on the season with two matches left to play.

"We are really excited for Kelsey earning her first Player of the Week honors. After last spring, she made the decision to go all in with her training, conditioning, and wanted to see how good of a tennis player she could become," said head coach Steve Ascher.

"Last weekend she rose to the occasion beating two of the top players in the league. She played with a clear mind, was the aggressor, and controlled both matches from start to finish. We are excited to watch as she continues to play a high level of tennis to close out the season."

Phillips and the Griz return to action this week in Bozeman where Montana takes on Montana State in the annual Brawl of the Wild dual on Saturday, April 11, with the doubles round getting underway at 10 a.m.

The Grizzlies cap the season in Missoula on April 18 against Weber State, with that dual also set to begin at 10 a.m. at the Peak Racquet Club off Blue Mountain Road south of Missoula.

University of Montana Athletics

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