FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – The Northern Arizona men's tennis team pushed first-place Weber State to the brink in their Sunday afternoon matinee face-off, but the Wildcats clawed out a 4-3 win. NAU's rally efforts from a 3-1 deficit come up just shy, as it fell to 5-4 in the Big Sky and 7-12 overall.

The Wildcats pounced on the Lumberjacks quick and fast in doubles play, scoring 6-3 wins across the board to take the 1-0 lead in the match.

Weber State pushed its lead to 2-0 after a win at No. 2 singles, before senior Jordan Gobatie ignited NAU at the No. 1 spot. Gobatie put the Lumberjacks on the board with a 6-4, 6-1 win over Weber State's Jakub Gewert, only for the Wildcats to respond with a win of their own at No. 3.

Down 3-1, the Lumberjacks really turned on the heat at Continental Country Club. Freshman Felix Schumann prevailed in a tight two-set battle, winning at 7-5, 7-6 (5) to bring the 'Jacks within one on the team scoreboard.

With the momentum on NAU's side, eyes turned to court four where two of the Big Sky's hottest singles players matched up. Senior Kester Black, carrying a six-match win streak, faced off against Weber State's Landon Barlow – who entered Sunday on a 14-match win streak and was a Big Sky best 15-1 in the spring – and the match lived up to the billing. In the end, it was Black who pulled off the highly impressive win in three sets, who after splitting the first two sets, dominated in the third set to win 6-4, 3-6, 6-0. The win – Black's seventh consecutive – effectively handed Barlow his first conference loss of the season and more importantly knotted the score at 3-3.

That left the match in the hands of the No. 6 singles competitors with freshman Adi Zilberstein locked up with Sanjay Goswami of the Wildcats. Goswami struck first in the opening set, but Zilberstein forced a deciding set with a second set win. In the third set though, Goswami charged late and overcame a deficit to win 7-5 in the final set, denying NAU of its upset bid.

The Lumberjacks will conclude the regular season with a pair of home matches. NAU hosts Southern Utah on Saturday at Enchantment Resort in Sedona at 9 a.m. before returning to Flagstaff's Continental Country Club next Sunday versus Portland State at 10 a.m.

Results

Doubles

1. Stefan Cooper/Sanjay Goswami (WSU) def. Jordan Gobatie/Alexandre Locci (NAU) 6-3
2. Jakub Gewert/Todd Fought (WSU) def. Eden Peleg/Adi Zilberstein (NAU) 6-3
3. Landon Barlow/Hou-En Chen (WSU) def. Felix Schumann/Kester Black (NAU) 6-3

Order of Finish: 1, 2, 3

Singles

1. Jordan Gobatie (NAU) def. Jakub Gewert (WSU) 6-4, 6-1
2. Stefan Cooper (WSU) def. Alexandre Locci (NAU) 6-4, 7-5
3. Todd Fought (WSU) def. Eden Peleg (WSU) 7-6 (5), 6-3
4. Kester Black (NAU) def. Landon Barlow (WSU) 6-4, 3-6, 6-0
5. Felix Schumann (NAU) def. Shao-Po Yin (WSU) 7-5, 7-6 (5)
6. Sanjay Goswami (WSU) def. Adi Zilberstein (NAU) 6-3, 4-6, 7-5

Order of Finish: 2, 1, 3, 5, 4, 6