FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (March 14, 2019) – The Northern Arizona women's tennis concludes their longest stretch away from home with a pair of matches at Fresno State at 5 p.m. MST on Friday and Sacramento State at 11 a.m. MST on Monday. After this week's road trip through central and northern California, the Lumberjacks will play eight of their final 10 matches of the season in Flagstaff.
The Lumberjacks are 4-6 overall after two straight losses, including a narrow 4-3 loss to New Mexico last Friday. The Lumberjacks and Lobos split the six singles matches, but New Mexico's doubles point proved to be the difference in the match.
The doubles point has been critical to NAU's overall success this season with the Lumberjacks holding a 3-1 record when going into singles with the 1-0 advantage. Conversely, NAU is 1-5 when the 'Jacks have not claimed the doubles point.
Junior
Chiara Tomasetti and freshman
Adrianna Sosnowska are a team-best 7-3 in doubles, playing all 10 matches at the top position. However, Tomasetti and Sosnowska's six-match winning streak was halted by New Mexico last week. Still, the pair remain in a three-way tie for most No. 1 doubles wins in the league.
Sophomore
Ellie Millard is third on the team in doubles wins with a 4-4 record. Millard has primarily paired with senior
Hanneke Lodewijks at No. 2 doubles with the tandem holding a current record of 3-2.
Tomasetti leads all conference players with No. 1 singles victories with an undefeated record of 9-0. Tomasetti posted her eighth consecutive straight-set victory last week at New Mexico. She remains the only nationally-ranked player in the Big Sky at No. 108.
NAU's freshman duo of Sosnowska and
Emilie Haakansson are second and third respectively on the team in singles wins. Sosnowska is 6-3 with three wins each at No. 3 and No. 4, while Haakansson has wins at No. 3, 4 and 5 this spring.
Fresno State has played a challenging schedule thus far this spring, including four nationally-ranked squads, but has managed a 6-7 dual record. The Bulldogs have been stout on their home courts winning five of seven matches with their only home losses coming to No. 44 Utah and No. 36 Washington State both by 4-1 scores earlier this week.
At the top of the Bulldogs' lineup is Jennifer Timotin, who is Fresno State's primary No. 1 singles play. Timotin came up huge in Fresno State's most recent win against BYU on March 4. Her win three-set win at No. 1 completed a Bulldog comeback from 3-1 down to defeat the Cougars, 4-3. Timotin and Georgia Lawson have comprised Fresno State's primary No. 1 doubles team.
The Lumberjacks have faced the Bulldogs just once before in 2003 with Fresno State claiming a 5-2 victory.
NAU will then venture north for its second conference match of the season against Sacramento State. The Hornets, who will host Weber State on Saturday prior to facing NAU, are still in search of their first victory of the season with a 0-7 overall record and 0-1 mark in conference.
Jayden Nielsen is the team leader in singles wins with a 3-3 mark at No. 3. Jenna Dorian (No. 4) and Sofi Wicker (No. 5) also have two wins apiece. Where Sacramento State has really struggled this spring is in doubles with just a 2-13 record as a team.
Although Sacramento State holds a 24-9 all-time advantage, the 'Jacks have had recent success against the Hornets, winning the last three meetings including a 6-1 home victory last season.
