STORY BY MONTANA SPORTS INFORMATION
MISSOULA – The Montana women’s tennis team dropped a pair of 7-0 matches to a strong Washington State squad in a Friday doubleheader at the Peak Racquet Club in Missoula to open its season 0-2.
Grizzly Freshman Eimear Maher produced the biggest highlight of the day for the Grizzlies, winning the only set of the day for UM on court six to force a three-set tiebreaker in the second match of the day.
Maher couldn’t hang on for the win, however, as the Cougars advanced to 4-0 on the season with wins over Idaho, Montana and Montana State on their resume.
“Washington State is really good this year, but we battled and got rid of those early match jitters,” said head coach Steve Ascher. “The second matches were much better.”
In the first match of the day, the Griz had a promising start to doubles play on court one. Senior Cam Kincaid and freshman Bianca Bostromwon a pair of games to remain within a shot of winning the set.
But their effort was cut short as the Cougars’ strength and consistency on courts two and three overwhelmed UM 6-1 to give the visitors the crucial doubles point.
Washington State star Michaela Bayerlova, the defending Pac-12 Player of the Week, took two quick, but well-contested sets over Griz freshman Julia Ronney (6-0, 6-1) to put Cougars up 2-0 to start the singles session.
Montana wouldn’t get much closer, as the Cougars swept the remainder of the singles round to win the first round of the doubleheader 7-0.
In the afternoon session, Washington State once again clinched the doubles point with dominant performances on courts two and three to get out to a 1-0 lead.
The Cougar dominance continued into singles play to finish out the doubleheader day, winning every match against the Griz.
Maher’s marathon match highlighted the end of the day for the Griz. Had the native of Ireland prevailed, it would have been the first loss for the Cougars this season.
Maher looked strong in the first set, returning multiple baseline lobs to take a 6-2 win in the opening set. In the second set, Maher built a 3-1 lead and looked to be on her way to her first win of the season.
Washington State’s Ege Tomey came storming back, however, taking advantage of Maher’s errors at the net to win the second set 6-4.
In the tiebreaker, Maher jumped out to a 5-4 lead before running out of gas and falling 10-5 to give WSU the 7-0 sweep.
“Right now you’re just trying to get that match experience back and the mental toughness that goes into match play,” said Ascher.
Montana returns to action on Saturday, hosting another team from a power-five conference in the Iowa Hawkeyes. The first serve from the Peak Racquet Club in Missoula goes up at 11 a.m.
Match 1
Washington State 7, Montana 0
Singles competition
1. Michaela Bayerlova (WSU) def. RONNEY, Julia (UM) 6-0, 6-1 2. Guzal Yusupova (WSU) def. KINCAID, Cam (UM) 6-2, 6-2 3. Tiffany Mylonas (WSU) def. BOSTROM, Bianca (UM) 6-0, 6-3 4. Aneta Miksovska (WSU) def. JOANLANNE, Nathalie (UM) 6-2, 6-2 5. Barbora Michalkova (WSU) def. ORFANOS, Catherine (UM) 6-1, 6-4 6. Melisa Ates (WSU) def. MAHER, Eimear (UM) 6-0, 6-2
Doubles competition
1. KINCAID, Cam/BOSTROM, Bianca (UM) vs. Barbora Michalkova/Melisa Ates (WSU) 2-5, unfinished 2. Guzal Yusupova/Tiffany Mylonas (WSU) def. RONNEY, Julia/JOANLANNE, Nathalie (UM) 6-1 3. Michaela Bayerlova/Aneta Miksovska (WSU) def. ORFANOS, Catherine/MAHER, Eimear (UM) 6-1
Match Notes:
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2); Singles (1,3,2,4,6,5)
Match 2
Washington State 7, Montana 0
Singles competition
1. Michaela Bayerlova (WSU) def. KINCAID, Cam (UM) 6-0, 6-1 2. Tiffany Mylonas (WSU) def. RONNEY, Julia (UM) 6-4, 6-1 3. Barbora Michalkova (WSU) def. JOANLANNE, Nathalie (UM) 6-2, 6-2 4. Aneta Miksovska (WSU) def. BOSTROM, Bianca (UM) 6-1, 6-0 5. Melisa Ates (WSU) def. ORFANOS, Catherine (UM) 6-3, 6-1 6. Ege Tomey (WSU) def. MAHER, Eimear (UM) 2-6, 6-4, 1-0 (10-5)
Doubles competition
1. RONNEY, Julia/JOANLANNE, Nathalie (UM) vs. Barbora Michalkova/Melisa Ates (WSU) 2-3, unfinished 2. Guzal Yusupova/Tiffany Mylonas (WSU) def. KINCAID, Cam/BOSTROM, Bianca (UM) 6-0 3. Michaela Bayerlova/Aneta Miksovska (WSU) def. ORFANOS, Catherine/PANIC, Milica (UM) 6-1
Match Notes:
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3); Singles (1,3,2,4,5,6)
Officials: Delman, Schwartz
T-2:43 A-20
