CHENEY, Wash. – The Eastern Washington University women's tennis team hits the road for two final Big Sky Conference matches as they face Montana State on April 16 at 9 a.m. Pacific time in Bozeman, Mont., before finishing regular season play against Montana on April 18 at 12:30 p.m. PT in Missoula, Mont. The Eagles currently hold a 6-8 overall and an unbeaten 2-0 conference record with a three-match winning streak attached to their belt.

"I'm very proud of what we've accomplished so far this season. But we are not done. We are ready to finish strong, and we know both Montana State and Montana are tough places to play. We have to be motivated and prepared to respond to whatever comes our way," said head coach Dustin Hinson. "We have done a great job of adjusting and preparing for different conditions and different playing styles so far this season. We know we have to stay mentally tough and play each point like it's the only point. Each match will undoubtedly be a battle but that's what we train for and that's what we expect, and at the end of the day, we have to trust our game plan and believe in our ability to execute."

BIG SKY TITLE AND CLINCHING SCENARIOS: The Eagles head into the next two matches with hopes of qualifying for the Big Sky Conference Tournament and winning their first-ever regular season title. This season, the conference is split into a North and South Division with the top two teams in each division earning a postseason berth to the championships.
 
Eastern Washington currently sits in first place in the North Division with a 2-0 record. Portland State follows with a 3-1 record and have completed the conference portion of its schedule.
 
Should the Eagles end the season undefeated, they'll finish 4-0 and win their first Big Sky regular season title and qualify for the tournament for the third-straight season. Eastern Washington can clinch a spot as early as Friday if they beat Montana State and Montana loses to Idaho.  
 
On Friday, if both Montana and Eastern Washington win or if Eastern loses and Montana wins its respective matches, then the final spot in the tournament will go to the winner of the head-to-head match between the two foes on Sunday. Either way, EWU must beat Montana to keep its Big Sky title hopes alive.
 
There are several different clinching scenarios, and there are ways for EWU to still qualify if they go 1-1 or 0-2 over the weekend. Stay tuned to GoEags.com for more clinching scenarios throughout the weekend.

LAST TIME OUT: Eastern returns after hosting a tough battle against conference opponent Portland State at the Jim Thorpe Fieldhouse last week for Senior Day, in which the Eagles fought for a 4-3 comeback victory after giving up the doubles point and going down 3-0 early in the day. Renata Gabuzyan, who played at the No.5 singles spot, secured the fourth point when the team match score was tied 3-3 to collect the team win.

A week prior to the match against PSU, the Eagles battled conference foe Idaho at home and fought for a 4-3 victory in which another Eagle stepped up in freshman Scout Mathews who secured the last point to solidify the team victory.

KNOWING YOUR OPPONENT: MONTANA STATE

Montana State is led by head coach Jon Reeves, who enters his sixth season at the helm and currently leads his squad to a 1-8 overall and 0-2 conference record with the lone victory against the College of Idaho. The Bobcats are returning after falling to Montana 4-3 at home earlier this month, as they look to face EWU and then Idaho for their final two regular season matches.

Furthermore, the Eagles hold an all-time series record of 1-40 against the Bobcats with the single victory dated back to February of 2019 when Eastern hosted Montana State for its first conference match of the season and found a 5-2 victory.

KNOWING YOUR OPPONENT: MONTANA

Montana is led by head coach Steve Ascher, who enters his 13th season at the helm and currently leads his team to a winning 6-4 overall and an even 1-1 conference record after defeating Montana State (6-1) back in late February. Montana is currently on a two-match winning streak following two close 4-3 wins over Weber State and Montana State, respectively.   

The Eagles hold an all-time series record of 14-47 against the Grizzlies with a two-match winning streak while head coach Dustin Hinson is 4-4 all-time against the Montana program.

WHAT'S NEXT:

Following the outcome of the next two matches, Eastern Washington will either finish regular season play without a playoff spot, or with one.

The 2021 Big Sky Conference Women's Tennis Championship will be held on May 1-2, Saturday-Sunday, in Phoenix, Ariz., with the top two teams from each division competing for the title.