Oct. 9, 2012

The University of Montana women's tennis team is off to Las Vegas to compete in the ITA Mountain Regionals Oct. 14-17.

The tournament is held at the Fertitta Tennis Complex on UNLV's campus. Twenty schools will compete at the regionals including Air Force, BYU, Boise Stae and Weber State. Montana is not currently ranked by the ITA. Sacramento State is the only Big Sky school to be ranked. The Hornets sit at 56th.

Each player is guaranteed two matches. Competition kicks off on Wednesday at 10 a.m. MST. Doubles competition begins on Thursday. There will be two consolation rounds for both singles and doubles.

Last year, Montana saw a doubles team advance all the way to the finals. Laurence Pelchat and Heather Davidsonwere defeated by a duo from Wyoming in the final match. Pelchat and Davidson return to the tournament this year.

The Grizzlies have had almost two weeks off. The last tournament the team competed in was the Jack Taylor Classic hosted by Boise State. At that tournament, the team went 21-8. Head coach Steve Ascher said he thought the team had continued the momentum from previous tournaments. Montana is hoping to see the same success earlier this fall at the ITA Regionals.

"We are looking forward for the opportunity to be involved in special matches against some of the best teams in our region," said Ascher. "As a player and a program, we are always striving to continue to bring recognition to The University of Montana. Getting wins versus big name programs is what being a Griz is all about."

Recaps will follow each day of competition on GoGriz.com.