(Editor’s note: Montana State University press release)
BOZEMAN – The Montana State women’s tennis team will close out its 2019 campaign when it hosts Montana, Saturday, April 20 at 10 a.m. at the Bobcat-Anderson Tennis Center as part of the annual Brawl of the Wild series between the two rivals.
The two schools split the series last season as MSU captured a 4-3 decision in Missoula, while the Griz notched a 6-1 victory in Bozeman.
This season, both Montana State (3-15, 1-8) and Montana (3-17, 3-6) have been eliminated from Big Sky Conference postseason play, leaving Saturday’s match for Treasure State bragging rights.
“We’re excited to play,” said MSU head coach Jon Reeves. “We’re coming off two solid performances and that’s a step in the right direction. It’s been an issue this year where we’ve had good matches but haven’t been able to back it up. We got some rest this week, now we just have to bring it.”
Saturday’s match will be highlighted by the No. 1 singles pairing of MSU’s Laura Mary and UM’s Julia Ronney. Mary, a native of Eaubonne, France is 9-8 overall and 6-2 in Big Sky Conference action. Ronney, a sophomore from San Diego, Calif., is 14-12 overall and owns a 6-1 league record.
Last weekend, both players had like opponents as Mary defeated Weber State’s Pei-Hsuan Kuo 6-3, 6-2, before falling to Northern Arizona’s Chiara Tomasetti 4-6, 6-3, 7-5. Ronney defeated Kuo 6-2, 7-5 and lost to Tomasetti 6-3, 7-5. Mary is the only league player to take a set off Tomasetti, who sits atop of the Big Sky’s singles chart with a perfect 18-0 mark.
Last spring, the two standouts had epic battles with Ronney coming out on top, twice. Ronney defeated Mary 7-6, 4-6, 7-5 in Bozeman, and 5-7, 6-0, 6-3 in Missoula.
Prior to the match, MSU will celebrated its lone senior Linda Vink. Vink, a product of Sint-Michielsgestel, Netherlands, will be looking for her first league win of the season. In doubles action, she has combined with teammate Annie Walker at the No. 2 spot where the duo is also looking for its first Big Sky breakthrough.
