Griz look to extend win streak over Cats

Whatever sport it is, when it's Griz/Cat, it's the biggest match of the year.

The Montana women's tennis team returns to action this week for their shot at rivalry glory when the Griz head to Bozeman to take on the Cats at the Anderson Bobcat Tennis Center on Saturday morning, with the doubles round getting underway at 10 a.m.

The Griz (2-14, 0-6 BSC) cross the divide looking to get back in the win column, and what a win it would be as the Cats enter the match at 6-10 overall and 2-4 in conference play, coming off a home upset of Northern Arizona last week, 4-3.

But Montana has momentum of its own coming off a doubles win and a Big Sky Player of the Week performance by Kelsey Phillips at No. 1 singles against Idaho State last week in a dual that saw UM win first sets on five of the six single courts.

With the eyes of the state on them, the Griz now have a chance to get the monkey off their backs with the first league win of the season.

The good news: UM has had MSU's number in recent years, with the Griz winners of three straight Brawl of the Wild duals and four of the last five meetings between the two rivals including a 2024 victory in Bozeman that clinched Montana a share of the Big Sky regular season championship.

"It's exciting. We're looking forward to going down there to compete hard and get after it. Everyone knows the stakes of this match and that's what so fun about the rivalry across all the sports. There's a lot at stake and it's important all around the state, so that's exciting because it brings out the best in both teams," said head coach Steve Ascher.

COVERAGE: Links to live scoring can be found at the team's schedule page on GoGriz.com/WTEN.

LAST MEETING: With three-set heroics from a pair of freshmen at the bottom of the lineup, the Griz bounced back to upset the Bobcats 4-3 after trailing virtually the entire match in the 2025 meeting in Missoula.

Montana rebounded 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. 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 Kate Prichard who knocked-off Bobcat senior Andrea Cuquerellard in her third set to clinch for the Griz.

LAST TIME IN BOZEMAN: In 2024 The Griz handed MSU its only loss of the year in Bozeman, beating the Bobcats 5-2 to clinch a share of the program's first Big Sky Conference regular season championship since 2014 to put the cherry on top of a historic season.

To earn the win, Montana pulled out a nailbiter in doubles that saw two of the three matches go to a tiebreaker. In singles, the top of the Grizzly lineup came through big with wins on courts one through three – two of which went three sets – to clinch the Brawl of the Wild victory.

GRIZ TRACKS: Phillips remained undefeated in Big Sky play with a pair of impressive singles wins and clinched the doubles point against ISU 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.

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

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Players Mentioned

Meghna Anand

Olivia Moir

Kelsey Phillips

Kate Prichard

University of Montana Athletics