FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (April 1, 2019) – The Northern Arizona men's tennis team will be kicking off its seven-match homestand as it takes on the University of Delaware on Wednesday, April 3. Following the match against Delaware, the Lumberjacks will take on Weber State and on Saturday, April 6 and Eastern Washington on Sunday, April 7.
"We are very excited to play at home again," NAU head coach
Maciej Bogusz said. "We had a lot of success playing in front of our fans this season and our players very much enjoy it."
NAU will be entering the week with a record of 12-6 on the season and 7-0 in the Big Sky. The 'Jacks are coming off of a perfect March where the team went 9-0. The nine-match win streak is the second longest in the programs history.
"The team's focus is not necessarily on the winning streak but on the process of how to be better each match we play, and we still have lots of room to grow," Bogusz said. "If we take care of the things we control, we will have opportunities to achieve the desired outcome."
On the season
Tim Handel has been as consistent as a player could be for their team as he is currently 15-1 on the season as the No. 1 player for NAU. The 15 wins lead the team, but also the conference. Following Handel in singles wins for the Lumberjacks is fellow senior
Ruben Montano who currently is 11-6 on the season.
In doubles, Northern Arizona currently has an overall record of 28-16 on the season. The 'Jacks No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 pairs all currently have nine wins on the season. NAU's duo of
Lucas Taylor and
Facundo Tumosa hold the best record of the three as they sit at 9-4 on the year.
Matchups
The University of Delaware is entering the match on Wednesday with a record of 12-6 on the season and is currently riding a three-match winning streak. The Blue Hens last match was a 6-1 victory against La Salle on March 29.
In singles, UD currently has two players over the ten win mark. The first is their No. 1 singles player James Wilkinson, who is 10-5 on the season, while the other is Luis Molina who has a record of 12-4 on the year. Molina plays mostly as the No. 2 for the Blue Hens.
In doubles, the Blue Hens haven't found consistency in their lineup as they have used 15 different pairing combinations. The top duo for Delaware is Molina and Wilkinson, who are 11-4 on the season.
Weber State is entering the week with a record of 4-13 on the and currently on a six-match losing streak. The Wildcats are 2-5 in the Big Sky, with their wins against Northern Colorado and Eastern Washington.
In singles, the Wildcats have Kris Van Wyk as their No. 1 singles player. Van Wyk holds a record of 6-9 on the season. The Weber State tennis player with the most wins on the season is Paul Ohde who currently sits at 9-5 on the season. Ohde has played anywhere from the No. 2 to the No. 5 position.
WSU has struggled in doubles on the season, as they have a 37.2 win percentage. The Wildcats have two teams with five wins; the first pair is Michiel Van Schoor and Van Wyk who play at the No. 1, while the other duo is Bo-han Li and Ohde who play mostly at the No. 3.
The finals match of the week is against Eastern Washington who will be entering the week with a record of 3-11 overall and 1-4 in the Big Sky.
In singles, the Eagles' most consistent player is Jeremy Field, who both is the team's No. 1 singles player but also leads the team in wins. Field's record in the 2019 season is 9-5.
Similar to singles, EWU has had struggles through the season as its doubles record on the season is 10-30. Eastern Washington's top duo is Field and Mikayel Khachatryan, who hold a record of 6-7., who hold a record of 6-7.
