FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (April 6, 2019) – Senior
Hanneke Lodewijks found herself not only battling her opponent on Saturday, but also her season-long injury. Facing match point, the obstacles were not enough to keep her down. Lodewijks' emotional three-set victory at No. 2 singles clinched the Northern Arizona women's tennis team's 5-2 victory over Weber State inside the Aquatic and Tennis Complex and extended the Lumberjacks' season-long winning streak to four matches.
"We knew this was going to be a tough match for not only myself, but the entire team," Lodewijks said. "I started playing really smart especially in the last three games. I barely missed and I made (Yunna Ukita) miss. My teammates really helped me out by cheering me on. I was really happy especially after being match point down."
After Lodewijks claimed the first set over Yunna Ukita, 6-4, Ukita bounced back to win the second set, 6-3. Ukita then led the third set, 5-3, and held match point before Lodewijks began her rally. After surviving match point, Lodewijks ripped off eight straight points to surge ahead, 6-5, and eventually clawed past her Wildcat opponent in the following game for the match-clincher.
"That was huge for her and huge for the team," said head coach
Ewa Bogusz. "With (Hanneke's) experience as a senior high in the lineup, she can do a lot of a lot of things."
Saturday's match between two one-loss teams in league play was a marathon covering just shy of four hours, but NAU's doubles point and a quartet of singles wins helped the 'Jacks even their overall record to 8-8. More importantly, NAU improved to 4-1 in conference play by halting Weber State, who entered the day in sole possession of second place in the Big Sky standings.
The Lumberjacks dominated the Wildcats out of the gate, easily claiming the doubles point. After Lodewijks and sophomore
Ellie Millard notched a 6-2 win at No. 2, junior
Chiara Tomasetti and freshman
Adrianna Sosnowska wrapped up doubles play with a 6-3 win at No. 1. Tomasetti and Sosnowska's victory snapped Weber State's Pei-Hsuan Kuo and Sara Parker's 11-match win streak. The Wildcats' duo was previously 11-1.
Lodewijks moved into a tie with Malia Wahinepio for first all-time in program history with 53 career doubles victories. Also of note, at the time NAU clinched the doubles point, sophomore
Madi Moore and freshman
Emilie Haakansson were serving for match point ahead 5-2 on court three.
Tomasetti, ranked No. 118 in this week's Oracle/ITA national rankings, gave the Lumberjacks a 2-0 lead by handing Kuo a 6-0, 6-2 defeat on court one. Weber State momentarily cut its deficit in half with a win at No. 4, but Moore quickly followed up with a 7-5, 6-2 victory at No. 6.
Three of the six singles matches went the distance, and the Wildcats struck in the first of three three-set matches. Weber State moved within 3-2 following Parker's win at No. 3, but Lodewijks' heroics dashed all hopes by the visitors.
Haakansson was locked up with Megan Lombardi – the Big Sky's leader in wins with a 16-1 record – on court five in the last remaining match. After the two freshmen split the first two sets, Haakansson followed Lodewijks' lead by rallying back from a 5-3 third-set deficit herself. Haakansson controlled the tiebreaker and prevailed, 6-7(6), 6-3, 7-6(3).
"Everybody showed up and fought until the end," Bogusz said. "That character is what got us through today. Weber State came out strong and even though we got the doubles point, they fought in singles. It was close on almost every court."
NAU again faces a one-loss team on Sunday when it hosts Southern Utah at 2 p.m. The Lumberjacks and Thunderbirds are currently tied for second place with identical 4-1 league records.
Results:
Doubles:
