FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (February 28, 2019) – The Northern Arizona men's tennis team will be kicking off its regular season home opener on March 2, at 11 a.m. against Southern Utah. This will be not only NAU's first home match but will also be the team's first conference match of the season. Despite the 3-6 start to the season, the senior heavy Lumberjacks are projected to win the Big Sky championship for the 2019 season.
"We had an excellent week of practice," NAU head coach
Maciej Bogusz said. "It's been short, but we have been very productive as we have been able to clean up a few things and everyone is just excited for the first home match."
The Lumberjacks are coming off a weekend where the team went 0-2, with losses to Gonzaga and UNLV.
The loss to Gonzaga came down to the wire as NAU fell 4-3. Although taking an early 2-1 lead, the match eventually got tied up at 3-3 before the 'Jacks fell.
Unlike the loss to Gonzaga, Northern Arizona wasn't able to score a point against UNLV in the 7-0 loss. In the defeat,
Tim Handel lost his undefeated streak in singles on the season which lasted six wins.
The Lumberjacks No. 1 position and person with the most wins in singles is Handel. Handel has a 6-1 record on the season, while the next closest 'Jack in wins is
Facundo Tumosa who has three on the season.
In doubles, Northern Arizona has an overall win percentage of .52, with both its No.1 and No.2 doubles with four wins. The No.1 doubles is made up of
Ruben Montano and Handel, while the No. 2 doubles is made up of
Lucas Taylor and Tumosa.
"It's good to be home as we get to play in front of our fans," Bogusz said. "We get to play at a lot of nice places like San Diego or Las Vegas, but the guys always say the best matches they play are at home."
Matchup
Southern Utah will be entering the match against Northern Arizona with a record of 7-3 on the season. The Thunderbirds were riding a five game winning streak before losing two straight to Northern Colorado and Air Force over the past two weekends.
Southern Utah's No. 1 singles player is Salvador Mijares, who holds a record of 5-1 on the season. Although not No. 1, the two Thunderbirds who lead the team in singles wins are Juan Erro and Agustin Tamagnon, who both have seven.
SUU has found success throughout the season in doubles as the team holds a win percentage of .75. The top doubles team for the Thunderbirds is made up of the duo Jonathon Morales and Connor Tordoff who hold a team high five wins on the season.
