FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – The Northern Arizona women's tennis team will tackle three matches this week starting on Thursday, March 15 against the University of Nevada - Las Vegas and two Big Sky opponents in Eastern Washington on Saturday and Idaho on Sunday.
The NAU Lumberjacks have reached the midway mark and are currently 8-2 overall and 3-0 in conference with just eight matches remaining, after this week, until the Big Sky tournament.
Last year at this point the Lumberjacks were in the same position at 8-2 and went on to win 10 more matches and remain undefeated in conference action.
First up for the Lumberjacks is UNLV who is currently leading the series with 15 wins over the 'Jacks. The Rebels have an experienced squad with four of their eight being upperclassmen, and six of their eight returning from last season.
Northern Arizona will then travel to Cheney, Wash. to face the Eagles Saturday, March 17. The 'Jacks will end their week on the road against the reigning three-time Big Sky Conference champions in the Idaho Vandals Sunday, March 18.
The match against UNLV is set for 10:30 a.m. while the two conference matches are set for 10 a.m. start times.
Highlight Reel
- Northern Arizona is on a 24-consecutive regular-season winning streak against Big Sky opponents, currently on a eight-match winning streak overall this season.
- Previous ranked doubles pair Hanneke Lodewijks and Chiara Tomasetti is listed at the No. 57 spot in the national rankings.
- Freshman Madi Moore was named Big Sky Athlete of the Week Feb. 7 after going undefeated in singles and doubles across three matches.
- Sophomore Tomasetti was the first Lumberjack in the 2018 season to pick up an Athlete of the Week honor Jan. 24.
- Last season the Lumberjacks finished on top as the 2017 Big Sky Regular Season champions after recording an 18-5 overall record and an undefeated 11-0 conference record.
Weekend Scout
University of Nevada – Las Vegas
Thursday, March 15 | 10:30 a.m.
Fertitta Tennis Complex | Las Vegas, Nev.
The Rebels are currently 7-4 overall with one Mountain West win over Colorado State. UNLV is coming off of a 4-1 loss to Stanford and will host the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks in their sole match of the week. The last time these two teams matched up was in 2014 in Nevada where the 'Jacks came away with a 4-3 win. The eight-woman roster is led by head coach Kevin Cory who is the winningest coach in both UNLV and Mountain West women's tennis history picking up his 300th match win last season.
Eastern Washington
Saturday, March 17 | 10 a.m.
Eagles Tennis Courts | Cheney, Wash.
Eastern Washington is coming off its first weekend of Big Sky action over Northern Colorado and North Dakota increasing to 5-5 overall and notching its first two wins 7-0 and 6-1 in conference. The Eagles also have wins over Pacific Lutheran University, Seattle and Lewis-Clark State College. Eastern Washington will host Northern Arizona and Idaho State this weekend. The last time the Eagles and Lumberjacks faced each other was last season when Northern Arizona shut them out in a 7-0 win at home. Head coach Dustin Hinson, who is in his fourth season, leads a 10-woman roster.
Idaho
Sunday, March 18 | 10 a.m.
Memorial Gym Courts | Moscow, Idaho
The Vandals are coming into this season as reigning Big Sky Conference champions, winning three titles in consecutive years since 2015. Currently, Idaho is 3-3 overall and 2-0 in the Big Sky with wins over North Dakota and Northern Colorado. The Vandals will travel to Washington Saturday before hosting Northern Arizona and Idaho State, Sunday March 18 and Tuesday March 20, respectively. The last time Northern Arizona and Idaho faced off was in the Big Sky Conference championship where the Vandals came out on top 4-3 after the 'Jacks defeated them in the regular season with the same score. The seven-woman squad returns star player Marianna Petrei who was named MVP last season. The Idaho Vandals are led by head coach Babar Akbar.
Coming Up
Northern Arizona will have a little over a week before continuing Big Sky action in another three-match week. The Lumberjacks will first hit the road to face Southern Utah Tuesday, March 27 at 11 a.m. before hosting Montana State and Northern Colorado, March 30 and April 1, respectively. Both home matches will be played in the Aquatic and Tennis Complex; the first Friday at 11 a.m. and the second Sunday at 10 a.m.
