FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (September 25, 2019) – A week after an encouraging season debut, the Northern Arizona women's tennis team will head to the UNLV Fall Invitational this weekend for their second tournament of the fall season. The Lumberjacks' three-day stay in Las Vegas will run Friday through Sunday at the Fertitta Tennis Complex.
While the majority of the team will compete in Las Vegas, senior
Chiara Tomasetti will represent the Lumberjacks, and the Big Sky Conference as a whole, at the Oracle ITA Masters starting on Thursday. The elite tournament will conclude on Sunday in Malibu, Calif.
Along with NAU and UNLV, Delaware, Long Beach State and Southern Utah will also be competing at the UNLV Fall Invitational. The Lumberjacks will aim to continue to post positive results after a successful showing at the ITA Bedford Cup in the Mountains two weekends ago.
"We've had almost two weeks to practice since our last tournament and we're focused on staying tough during the match and dealing with outside conditions," said head coach
Ewa Bogusz. "We want to stay mentally tough because that's what the fall is about. After this tournament, we'll have a month before Regionals so that's when we'll focus on the details."
Five 'Jacks posted winning singles records led by Tomasetti's perfect 5-0 showing en route to securing the Bedford Cup Flight A singles championship. Sophomores
Adrianna Sosnowska and
Emilie Haakansson also started the fall on a high note combining for a 7-2 record in singles play.
Freshmen
Elinor Beazley and
Mimi Bland and senior
Sydney Roman also posted multiple singles wins at the Air Force-hosted tournament.
In doubles, Tomasetti and junior
Ellie Millard compiled a team-best 3-1 record. Haakansson and Sosnowska paired together at the fall-opening tournament and went 2-2, as did the freshman tandem of Beazley and Bland.
At the Oracle ITA Masters, Tomasetti will be one of 17 nationally-ranked women's players among the 32-player field. Tomasetti, ranked No. 71 in the Oracle ITA Division I preseason national rankings last week, was selected for the tournament as the Big Sky's top returning player.
"The team is excited for Chiara," Bogusz said. "We can't wait to see how she does. This is a huge opportunity. Big names have won this tournament before and now they're pro players on the tour. This is great recognition for her. She trained hard during the summer and she definitely deserves this."
The tournament will mark Tomasetti's third career appearance in an ITA hosted tournament following last year's All-American Championships and National Fall Championships. In Thursday's opening round of the singles main draw, Tomasetti
– seeded No. 17 – will face No. 16 seed Iuliia Bryzgalova of Penn. Tomasetti faced Bryzgalova last season at the ITA National Fall Championships and prevailed in a third set tiebreak.
The Oracle ITA Masters is in its fifth year and will feature a singles draw in addition to a mixed doubles draw. In the mixed doubles draw, Tomasetti will partner with Weber State's Kris van Wyk, the Big Sky's men's representative. Tomasetti and van Wyk will square off against the UCF pairing of Valeriya Zeleva and Gabriel Decamps in the first round on Thursday.
The Oracle ITA Masters will be hosted jointly by the Malibu Racquet Club and Pepperdine University with both the men's and women's singles champions earning an automatic entry into the Oracle ITA National Fall Championships.
