FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – In the team's final home and regular season match of the year, the Northern Arizona University men's tennis squad scored its fifth-consecutive conference win and made it six of its last seven overall with a 6-1 victory over Big Sky foe Montana State Saturday afternoon at the Aquatic and Tennis Complex.

With their performance Saturday, the Lumberjacks (12-11, 8-3) will enter the conference tournament—starting April 29 in Gold River, Calif.—as the bracket's No. 4 seed, which is a two-spot improvement compared to last year's No. 6 seeded team. NAU could slide up as high as No. 3 in the bracket if Weber State beat Montana today in their match. Those results, however, have yet to be posted.

"It was a good finish for us," said Head Coach Ki Kroll. "I thought everybody played well and really pushed themselves today. That's what we need going into the conference tournament, so I was really happy."

NAU began today with an early 1-0 lead after nabbing the crucial doubles point from the Bobcats (5-12, 5-5). Ruben Montano and Tim Handel's 6-3 win in the first flight snapped their losing streak at three as a duo and improved their record to 5-7 on the season. NAU's Lucas Taylor and Eden Peleg followed with a 6-4 victory of their own in the second flight, bolstering their doubles record together to 6-1 overall and 2-1 against conference opponents.

Felix Schumann was the first Lumberjack to finish his singles flight, competing on court three and cruising to a 6-2, 6-2 straight set win over MSU's James. With the victory, Schumann added to his team-best conference record (9-2) and tallied his 12th individual win on the season.

Following Schumann was NAU's Montano, who bested the Bobcats' Ceolin in their fifth-flight battle, finishing off the MSU competitor in straight sets, 6-3, 6-1, for his seventh-straight victory. Almost simultaneously, Taylor registered his team-leading 14th win beating MSU's Flink, 6-2, 6-2, in flight No. 2. Handel also logged win No. 13 in the first flight today against Bates in a thrilling three-set match, 5-7, 6-4, 10-6.

All four athletes—Schumann, Montano, Taylor and Handel—are now 8-2 in their last 10 matches, heating up at just the right time heading into conference action next weekend.

"I think we're peaking at the right time going into this tournament," said Kroll. "It'll just be about getting there and adjusting to sea level. I feel everybody is pretty motivated, so I'm feeling pretty good about our chances."

Doubles Results

1. Montano/Handel (NAU) def. Flink/James (MSU), 6-3
2. Taylor/Peleg (NAU) def. Bates/Ceolin (MSU), 6-4
3. Schumann/Lee (NAU) unf. Harvala/Sitar (MSU), 5-4

Singles Results

1. Handel (NAU) def. Bates (MSU), 5-7, 6-4, 10-6
2. Taylor (NAU) def. Flink (MSU), 6-2, 6-2
3. Schumann (NAU) def. James (MSU), 6-2, 6-2
4. Peleg (NAU) def. Sitar (MSU), 6-4, 6-2
5. Montano (NAU) def. Ceolin (MSU), 6-3, 6-1
6. Harvala (MSU) def. Lee (NAU), 6-7 (6-8), 6-4, 5-10