Senior Laura Mary
Photo by: Andrew Pedersen
Bobcat Tennis Team Finishes Gonzaga Invite in Fine-Fashion
11/3/2019 6:42:00 PM | Women's Tennis
The Montana State women’s tennis team completed its 2019 fall season in fine fashion at the Gonzaga Invitational capturing four of six singles matches and two of three doubles contests on Sunday afternoon.
The Montana State women's tennis team completed its 2019 fall season in fine fashion at the Gonzaga Invitational capturing four of six singles matches and two of three doubles contests on Sunday afternoon.
"We finished off the Gonzaga Invite strong," said MSU head coach Jon Reeves. "We came with a plan and a goal of taking everything we learned over the fall season and showcasing it in our play.
"The team executed very well overall and they displayed their competitiveness and team unity," Reeves stated. "The team is in a great position to move forward into our eight-hour phase where they will fine tune specific elements of their games."
Senior Laura Mary, who is coming off shoulder surgery and facing her first action of the season, guided MSU against Portland. Mary defeated Neli Sunjic, 6-0, 6-4, while Mirte Van Baelen, JJ Chen and Enni Zander also won in straight sets.
In doubles action, Caitlin Ward and Van Baelen combined for an 8-4 victory over Melissa Huchet and Marta Magalhaes, while Daphne Haverkamp and Zander captured an 8-6 decision over the Vandals.
"We started with singles against Portland and took control with five first set wins," Reeves commented. "We completed the day with doubles versus Idaho taking victories in two-of-three matches. Caitlin and Mirte put on a display of aggressive doubles, while Enni and Daphne prevailed in a match that was tight the whole way through.
"(Today) showed our largest areas of improvement," Reeves said. "Bobcat women's tennis had their best day of play up to this date."
On Saturday, the Bobcats took three-of-five singles matches from Idaho. Laura Mary again paced MSU with a 6-2, 6-2 decision over Huchet.
"Laura started off the singles wins with a decisive victory at No. 1," Reeves said. "She is still getting her strength back. Laura did a great job of controlling her level of play and not pushing things too far. Mentally, she was free and focused on her task."
Also winning singles matches against the Vandals were Linnea Fristam and Van Baelen.
"Linnea played the best match of her Bobcat career," Reeves states. "She was locked in and competed tremendously well. Linnea fought back from a 3-0 deficit in the second set to win 6-3.
"Mirte also fought back from a 3-0 deficit to win the third and final set 6-3," Reeves continued. "She showed a huge level of improvement. Not only is she showing it in her play, but also with her speed and grit on court."
In doubles action on Saturday, MSU's tandem of Haverkamp and Zander were the only duo to post a victory over Gonzaga. The twosome downed Jenna Sloan and Maria Frampton, 8-1.
"Zander and Haverkamp started things off with a quick win at No. 3," Reeves said. "At the top spot Mary and Fristam pushed the match to a tiebreaker before falling in the closely contested match, 8-7(3)."
Montana State opened play on Friday sweeping all three doubles matches from Portland.
"The team played solid doubles against Portland," Reeves commented. "They fought through some deficits, extended leads and closed out their matches."
Zander was the lone Bobcat to post a win over the Zags. She defeated Frampton 6-3, 6-2 at No. 6 in the ladder.
"In singles we had made large improvements since our first fall tournament," Reeves stated. "These past few weeks of training, after three tournaments in a row, have been positive for our team. We had some kids playing at a high level and some kids returning from injury. We are excited for what lays ahead of us this spring."
"We finished off the Gonzaga Invite strong," said MSU head coach Jon Reeves. "We came with a plan and a goal of taking everything we learned over the fall season and showcasing it in our play.
"The team executed very well overall and they displayed their competitiveness and team unity," Reeves stated. "The team is in a great position to move forward into our eight-hour phase where they will fine tune specific elements of their games."
Senior Laura Mary, who is coming off shoulder surgery and facing her first action of the season, guided MSU against Portland. Mary defeated Neli Sunjic, 6-0, 6-4, while Mirte Van Baelen, JJ Chen and Enni Zander also won in straight sets.
In doubles action, Caitlin Ward and Van Baelen combined for an 8-4 victory over Melissa Huchet and Marta Magalhaes, while Daphne Haverkamp and Zander captured an 8-6 decision over the Vandals.
"We started with singles against Portland and took control with five first set wins," Reeves commented. "We completed the day with doubles versus Idaho taking victories in two-of-three matches. Caitlin and Mirte put on a display of aggressive doubles, while Enni and Daphne prevailed in a match that was tight the whole way through.
"(Today) showed our largest areas of improvement," Reeves said. "Bobcat women's tennis had their best day of play up to this date."
On Saturday, the Bobcats took three-of-five singles matches from Idaho. Laura Mary again paced MSU with a 6-2, 6-2 decision over Huchet.
"Laura started off the singles wins with a decisive victory at No. 1," Reeves said. "She is still getting her strength back. Laura did a great job of controlling her level of play and not pushing things too far. Mentally, she was free and focused on her task."
Also winning singles matches against the Vandals were Linnea Fristam and Van Baelen.
"Linnea played the best match of her Bobcat career," Reeves states. "She was locked in and competed tremendously well. Linnea fought back from a 3-0 deficit in the second set to win 6-3.
"Mirte also fought back from a 3-0 deficit to win the third and final set 6-3," Reeves continued. "She showed a huge level of improvement. Not only is she showing it in her play, but also with her speed and grit on court."
In doubles action on Saturday, MSU's tandem of Haverkamp and Zander were the only duo to post a victory over Gonzaga. The twosome downed Jenna Sloan and Maria Frampton, 8-1.
"Zander and Haverkamp started things off with a quick win at No. 3," Reeves said. "At the top spot Mary and Fristam pushed the match to a tiebreaker before falling in the closely contested match, 8-7(3)."
Montana State opened play on Friday sweeping all three doubles matches from Portland.
"The team played solid doubles against Portland," Reeves commented. "They fought through some deficits, extended leads and closed out their matches."
Zander was the lone Bobcat to post a win over the Zags. She defeated Frampton 6-3, 6-2 at No. 6 in the ladder.
"In singles we had made large improvements since our first fall tournament," Reeves stated. "These past few weeks of training, after three tournaments in a row, have been positive for our team. We had some kids playing at a high level and some kids returning from injury. We are excited for what lays ahead of us this spring."
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/ Women's TennisWednesday, June 10
Friday, March 27
Friday, March 13
Thursday, March 12
