MISSOULA, Mont. (April 14, 2019) – An early Sunday morning start inside the Peak Racquet Club did not deter the Northern Arizona women's tennis team's winning ways as the Lumberjacks picked up their seventh straight victory, 6-1, against Montana. Now at 7-1 in conference play, the Lumberjacks (11-8 overall) are now tied for the first in the Big Sky.
"The ladies performed on the road in tough conditions against a tough Montana team," said graduate assistant coach
Jordan Gobatie. "It's never easy performing in hostile environments and this win continues to prove the resilience that this team has. This trip was the test we needed for our upcoming matches and we're looking forward to the challenge."
Barring Eastern Washington's result versus Sacramento State, there could be a three-way tie for first-place entering the final weekend of the regular season. NAU and Idaho share 7-1 Big Sky marks with Eastern Washington holding a 6-1 mark at the moment. The 'Jacks will host both the Vandals and Eagles next weekend with regular season championship implications on the line.
The Lumberjacks took care of business on Sunday to set up the clash of the conference's top teams next weekend. NAU snagged the doubles point for the sixth consecutive match, setting the tone against a Montana squad that was celebrating Senior Day.
NAU's No. 1 and 3 tandems collected victories to ensure the doubles point by identical 6-3 scores. Junior
Chiara Tomasetti and freshman
Adrianna Sosnowska bested Julia Ronney and Bianca Bostrom first, before sophomore
Madi Moore and freshman
Emilie Haakansson clinched the point against Alexa Walker and Nathalie Joanlanne.
The Lumberjacks' No. 2 pairing of senior
Hanneke Lodewijks and sophomore
Ellie Millard led their opposition, 5-4, but the match went unfinished with the doubles point clinched.
Lodewijks easily dispatched Lauren Dunlap, 6-0, 6-3, at No. 2 singles to increase NAU's advantage to 2-0. The victory was Lodewijks' fifth straight in singles play. Millard followed with a 6-4, 6-1 win against Bostrom at No. 3 and Sosnowska sealed up the team win with NAU's fourth point in a 6-0, 6-4 victory on the fourth court versus Joanlanne.
Tomasetti faced deficits in both sets versus Ronney at No. 1, but ultimately prevailed in a 6-3, 7-5 straight-set victory in a matchup between two undefeated players in Big Sky play. Tomasetti improved to 18-0 this spring, including an 8-0 conference mark, while handing Ronney her first conference loss in seven matches.
Haakansson also moved to 8-0 in conference singles action with her seventh consecutive victory overall at No. 5. After winning her first set with ease, 6-2, against Lidia Dukic, Haakansson fought back from a late deficit to win the second set in a tiebreak, 7-6(5).
The Grizzlies managed to steal a win in the last completed singles match at No. 6 with Claudia Reguant outlasting Moore in the only three-set match of the day.
The 'Jacks will play their final two matches in Flagstaff before the conference tournament next weekend. With two victories against Idaho and Eastern Washington, NAU will capture its fourth straight Big Sky regular season title. The Lumberjacks are also looking to lock up a top two seed and a bye into the semifinals.
NAU will host Idaho on Saturday followed up with Senior Day for Lodewijks and
Eirene Granville on Sunday versus Eastern Washington. Both matches will start at 10 a.m. at the Aquatic and Tennis Complex.
Results:
Doubles:
