FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (May 1, 2019) – The Northern Arizona men's tennis team will be kicking off the NCAA Tournament on Friday, May 3 in Los Angeles, Calif. against the No. 8 seed University of Southern California. The two other schools that will also be participating at the USC tennis complex are San Diego and Minnesota.
Although NAU is the lowest seed of the four schools, it is entering the Tournament on a hot streak as the team has won its last 19 matches. This program-record started on March 2, against conference foe Southern Utah. Overall, the Lumberjacks are 22-6 on the season and went a perfect 10-0 in the Big Sky to win the regular season Championship. In the Big Sky tournament, the 'Jacks were able to win both their semifinal match against Idaho State and their final match against Portland State 4-0.
In singles, the name to remember for the Lumberjacks, is their No. 1 player
Tim Handel. The senior has had an impressive senior season, as he has a record of 21-1 on the season. Following the senior in wins on the team is freshman
Facundo Tumosa with 18, while fellow senior
Ruben Montano has 17 on the season. Tumosa plays at the No. 3 position for the team, while Montano plays at the No. 5 position.
In doubles, the 'Jacks have had a strong season up to this point as the team has a .73 winning percentage in doubles on the season. NAU's top duo is
Tom Fisher and
Chris Steele who have 17 wins on the season. The tandem has played a majority of its matches at the No. 3 position. Trailing the No. 3 doubles team in wins are the No. 1 pair and No. 3 pair, with 16 wins each. The No. 1 tandem is made up of Handel and Montano, and the No. 3 tandem is made up of
Lucas Taylor and Tumosa.
USC will be entering the matchup as the host school of the region, as the Trojans went 20-7 on the season. Similar to Northern Arizona, Southern Cal. will be entering the NCAA Tournament on a hot streak as the team has won its last seven matches, including the PAC-12 Championship over the University of California.
