FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (March 7, 2019) – The Northern Arizona men's tennis team will be back on the road on Mar. 9 and the 10 as the team takes on Montana and Montana State. The Lumberjacks will be entering the weekend with a 4-6 record while being 1-0 in the Big Sky.
"The team has been practicing on a different intensity recently," NAU head coach
Maciej Bogusz said. "Our upperclassman are leading the way and getting the best out of each player on the team."
The Lumberjacks are coming off a 5-2 win over Southern Utah on Mar. 2. The match marked the first home match of the season for the 'Jacks and their first conference match. Before the victory over the Thunderbirds, NAU was on a three-match losing streak that started on Feb. 16.
In the 5-2 victory over SUU, Northern Arizona came out strong as it swept the doubles point and one four of the six singles matches.
In doubles the No. 1 pair of
Tim Handel and
Ruben Montano kicked off the match with a 6-3 win, followed by
Tom Fisher and
Chris Steele who won the No. 2 doubles 7-6. Although already clinching the win NAU's No. 3 doubles duo of
Lucas Taylor and
Facundo Tumosa won their match 7-6.
In singles, the Lumberjacks maintained the momentum from doubles and won the first two singles matches. Taylor won the No. 2 and Montano won the No. 5. After the 'Jacks fell in back to back singles matches, Handel sealed the win for the team as he won the No. 1 singles match. Steele also picked up a win at No. 3 for NAU.
Through ten matches the Lumberjacks top singles player is Handel who holds a 7-1 record on the season and has just been nationally ranked as the No. 119 singles player in the country. Following Handel in wins is Tumosa and Montano, who both have three.
Northern Arizona's doubles pairs are pretty much even on the season as Handel and Montano and Taylor, and Tumosa both have five wins on the season, while Steele and Fisher have four wins on the season.
"The last match has shown the experience on our team, and I can't wait to see that again in the upcoming matches," Bogusz said.
Match-ups
Montana will be headed into the match-up against Northern Arizona with a record of 3-7 on the season and a record of 1-1 on the season. The Griz started the season out strong as they were 3-1 and have since been on a six-match losing streak. UM's lone conference win came in a 5-2 victory over Northern Colorado on Feb. 8.
Montana's No. 1 singles player headed into the match with NAU is Alex Canellopoulos, who currently is 2-7 in the spring. The Griz with the most wins in singles is Oisin Shaffrey, with seven.
In doubles, UM has played two teams at its No. 1 position, and they have a combined record of 2-7 on the season. The pair with the most wins for Montana is Pontus Hallgren and Ludvig Hallgren with three.
Montana State is entering the weekend match with a record of 1-6 on the season and has yet to play a Big Sky Conference match. The Bobcats lone win of the season came in a 7-0 victory over Whitman.
In singles, the Bobcats have both Drew Brown and Alexander Flink as their No. 1. The two have a combined record of 3-5 on the season, while Flink leads the team with a total of four singles wins.
In doubles, Montana State has struggled so far this season as the team's doubles record is 5-17, with the pair of Brown and Flink having three of them.
