STORY BY MONTANA SPORTS INFORMATION
MISSOULA – Montana’s comeback attempt fell just short against Montana State on Sunday, with the Griz dropping a tight 4-3 match to the Bobcats that came down to the final court at the Peak Racquet Club in Missoula.
The Cats (3-5, 2-0 BSC) got revenge on the Griz (5-7, 1-2 BSC), who had defeated MSU 6-1 in Bozeman a month ago in nonconference play.
But in the match that counted, the Grizzlies were forced to play catch up the whole day after dropping the doubles point and falling down 2-0 in singles.
“Credit to them, they were just better than us today,” said Head Coach Steve Ascher. “They competed harder and seemed like they wanted it more.”
Trailing 2-0, senior Cam Kincaid got the Griz on the road to recovery with a 6-4, 6-3 win on court two.
UM freshman Julia Ronney then gritted out a 5-6, 6-1, 6-3 come-from-behind victory on court one to knot the match at two.
Nathalie Joanlanne then took her first loss in the last seven outings, falling 6-1, 4-6, 6-1 in a comeback attempt to MSU’s Linda Vink on court three to put the Cats up 3-2.
Freshman Eimear Maher then tied the match again on court six, putting together a straight-sets 6-2, 6-4 win over Sara Cheverie.
The win filled the air with excitement as it looked like Montana’s momentum would lead the Griz to victory with the match hanging in the balance with fellow freshman Bianca Bostrom on court five.
The Swede dropped the first set in a marathon tiebreaker, 7-6 (10-6) and battled her way to a 3-3 draw in the second set before running out of gas and falling 6-3 to hand MSU the 4-3 win.
The Griz will now enter a bye week before returning to conference action on March 16 against North Dakota in Missoula.
2017-18 Montana Women’s Tennis
Montana State vs Montana (Mar 04, 2018)
Montana State 4, Montana 3
Mar 04, 2018 at Missoula, Mont. (Peak Racquet Club)
Singles competition
1. RONNEY, Julia (UM) def. MARY, Laura (MS) 5-6, 6-1, 6-3
2. KINCAID, Cam (UM) def. WALKER, Annie (MS) 6-4, 6-3
3. VINK, Linda (MS) def. JOANLANNE, Nathalie (UM) 6-1, 4-6, 6-1
4. PHILIPPOVA, Angelina (MS) def. ORFANOS, Catherine (UM) 6-1, 6-0
5. ZANDER, Enni (MS) def. BOSTROM, Bianca (UM) 7-6 (10-6), 6-3
6. MAHER, Eimear (UM) def. CHEVERIE, Sarah (MS) 6-2, 6-4
Doubles competition
1. MARY, Laura/WALKER, Annie (MS) def. KINCAID, Cam/BOSTROM, Bianca (UM) 6-2
2. VINK, Linda/PHILIPPOVA, Angelina (MS) def. RONNEY, Julia/JOANLANNE, Nathalie (UM) 6-3
3. ORFANOS, Catherine/MAHER, Eimear (UM) vs. ZANDER, Enni/PODEUR, Emma (MS) 2-5, unfinished
Match Notes
Montana State 3-5 (2-0 BSC)
Montana 5-7 (1-2 BSC)
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2); Singles (4,2,1,3,6,5)
