FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (April 11, 2019) – Riding a season-best five-match win streak, the Northern Arizona women's tennis embarks on their final road trip of the regular season to the Treasure State. The Lumberjacks will take on Montana State on Saturday at 9 a.m. MST and Montana on Sunday at 8 a.m. MST with hopes of moving closer to clinching a berth in the Big Sky Championship.
NAU's overall record sits at 9-8 while the Lumberjacks are third in the Big Sky with a 5-1 league record, and just a half-game out of first-place, after extending the conference's longest active win streak last weekend. The 'Jacks wrapped up an unbeaten five-match homestand with wins over Weber State, 5-2, and Southern Utah, 6-1.
The Lumberjacks have split their two road conference matches this season having defeated Northern Colorado, 5-2, on March 1 and dropping a narrow decision, 4-3, to Sacramento State on March 18.
Junior
Chiara Tomasetti and senior
Hanneke Lodewijks – the reigning Big Sky Women's Tennis Player of the Week – have been leading the Lumberjacks at the top of the lineup as the team hits the stretch run of the season. Both Tomasetti and Lodewijks won all four of their matches – two singles and two doubles – last weekend at the No. 1 and No. 2 positions respectively.
Tomasetti continued her undefeated dual season with her singles record currently at 16-0. Her 16 singles wins is tied for most in the Big Sky Conference this season. Meanwhile, Lodewijks has won her last three singles matches, providing length and overall success throughout the rest of the NAU lineup.
Moving down the lineup, sophomore
Ellie Millard has won three of her last four decisions, while freshman
Adrianna Sosnowska has won three of her last five matches. Freshman
Emilie Haakansson's current five-match win streak only trails Tomasetti and sophomore
Madi Moore has posted three consecutive victories.
Tomasetti and Haakansson are two of six players in the conference with singles records of 6-0 or better in league matches. As a team, NAU is 26-10 in Big Sky singles matches.
NAU's doubles have also improved of late with the Lumberjacks claiming the doubles point in four straight matches largely due to the play of their top two pairings. At No. 1, Tomasetti and Sosnowska have won four consecutive matches to improve to a team-best 11-5, while Lodewijks and Millard have won five straight matches at No. 2 and are 8-4 overall.
Tomasetti and Sosnowska rank second in the league with 11 No. 1 doubles wins. Lodewijks and Millard also rank second with eight victories at the No. 2 spot.
First up for the 'Jacks this weekend is a stop in Bozeman to face Montana State, who carry a 3-13 overall record and 1-6 conference mark. NAU defeated Montana State, 6-1, last season in Flagstaff marking its 11th straight victory against the Bobcats and running the Lumberjacks' all-time series advantage to 26-8.
Laura Mary leads Montana State, who is on an eight-match losing streak, in singles with an 8-7 record. Mary is 6-5 at No. 1 and has won five of seven matches versus Big Sky opponents. Annie Walker gives the Bobcats a strong presence at No. 2 and is 7-8 overall.
Walker and Sarah Cheverie have combined for a team-best 6-4 doubles record primarily at No. 2. Mary and Linnea Fristam are 5-5 with 10 of their matches played at the top spot.
Montana has dropped five straight matches, but remains in the hunt for a spot in the conference tournament. With a 3-15 overall record and 3-4 Big Sky record, the Grizzlies are just one win behind Southern Utah for the sixth and final position with two weeks remaining. NAU also handed Montana a 6-1 loss last season and is 26-7 all-time versus the Grizzlies having won three straight.
Julia Ronney is undefeated in five Big Sky singles matches and is 7-8 overall as the Grizzlies' No. 1 player in the lineup. Lidia Dukic is second on the team with six singles wins spread across the No. 3, 4 and 5 spots.
Ronney and Bianca Bostrom compete at the No. 1 position at doubles and holds a team-best 4-4 record. Three of their four victories have come atop the lineup.
