FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – The Northern Arizona men's tennis team will have a chance to solidify a spot in the Big Sky Conference tournament as it ends its road matches Monday, April 16 against Southern Utah.
The Lumberjacks and Thunderbirds will compete in St. George, Utah due to weather concerns in Cedar City. The match is set for 9 a.m.
Following Monday's matchup, Northern Arizona will end the regular season at home in a double header against both Sacramento State and Mesa Community College Saturday, April 21.
Currently, the 'Jacks are 9-10 overall and 7-2 in conference action with just one loss behind the Idaho Vandals.
The blue and gold roster is led by
Tim Handel,
Lucas Taylor and
Ruben Montano, who each have notched seven singles wins against Big Sky opponents. In doubles, duo
Tim Handel and
Thomas Fisher, in addition to Montano and
Sebastian Eguez, are leading the team with three conference wins.
Overall, Northern Arizona has 18 doubles wins and 57 singles wins going into the final stretch of the regular season.
Highlight Reel
- Junior Lucas Taylor received his first Athlete of the Week honor this season, third of his career, March 21.
- Northern Arizona notched its first two 7-0 shutouts of the season over North Dakota and Northern Colorado March 17 and March 18 in its home-opening weekend.
- Junior Tim Handel was the first Lumberjack to notch an AOTW honor this season on Feb. 28.
- Last season the Lumberjacks finished on top as the 2017 Big Sky Regular Season champions for the first time in 35 years after recording a 15-8 overall record and 10-1 conference mark.
Weekend Scout
Southern Utah
Monday, April 16 | 9 a.m.
St. George, Utah
Southern Utah is currently in the middle of the conference pack with an overall 14-7 record and 4-4 mark in the Big Sky. The Thunderbirds are coming off of a 4-3 win last weekend against Eastern Washington and are playing Idaho today. The Lumberjacks and Thunderbirds will face off Monday, before Southern Utah host its final match of the season against Sacramento State. Last time these two teams went head-to-head was last season where Southern Utah fell 6-1 to the 'Jacks in Flagstaff. The 10-man roster is led by head coach Sadhaf Pucher, who is in her second season with the Thunderbirds.
Coming Up
Northern Arizona will host its final two matches of the season against Sacramento State and Mesa Community College. Both matches will be held on April 21 at the Aquatic and Tennis Complex. The NAU Lumberjacks and Sac State Hornets will compete first at 10 a.m., honoring the four seniors in
Sebastian Eguez,
Harun Ajanovic,
Felix Schumann and
Adi Zilberstein, before taking on the Mesa CC Thunderbirds at 3 p.m.
