FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (January 17, 2020) – In the first of two back-to-back visits to their in-state Pac-12 rivals to open the dual match schedule, the Northern Arizona women's tennis team travels to Tempe to face Arizona State on Sunday. The Lumberjacks and Sun Devils will face off at 2 p.m. at ASU's Whiteman Tennis Center.
"Going into the weekend, I'm really looking forward to seeing our freshmen in their first dual match," said head coach
Ewa Bogusz. "The team is ready to kick off the season. They've been working hard and they're really focused. They're getting after it so we're looking forward to some tough competition this weekend."
NAU posted four singles wins and four doubles wins last weekend at the Weinman Foundation Invitational in Hawaii where the Lumberjacks faced off against players from Hawai'i, Washington State, BYU and Louisville.
Leading the way was freshman
Mimi Bland, who went undefeated in both singles and doubles action. Bland, after posting two singles and two doubles victories, was named the season's first Big Sky Women's Tennis Player of the Week.
Senior
Chiara Tomasetti and junior
Madi Moore accounted for NAU's two other singles wins last week as both players defeated opponents from Washington State. In doubles, Bland and sophomore
Adrianna Sosnowska won both of their matches, while the pairings of Tomasetti and junior
Ellie Millard, and sophomore
Emilie Haakansson and freshman
Elinor Beazley each won one match.
Tomasetti, ranked No. 57 nationally, owns a team-best 14-6 singles record so far this season heading into the dual opener. In dual matches last spring, Tomasetti was 21-2 and she sits just six wins shy of becoming NAU's all-time dual match singles record holder.
Meanwhile, Sosnowska and Bland have been exceptional in doubles with a 12-3 record between the fall season and last weekend's spring opening tournament. The pair is ranked No. 25 in the country – ahead of both of Arizona State's nationally-ranked doubles pairs.
NAU is still searching for its first all-time win in 23 meetings over Arizona State as the two teams will meet for the 10th consecutive year. Last season, the Sun Devils picked up a 4-0 victory, although the Lumberjacks played with just five healthy players.
Arizona State, who will play Northern Colorado earlier on Sunday in its dual opener, was 14-11 last season with a 5-5 record in Pac-12 play. The Sun Devils made their 32nd consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance and are led by Ilze Hattingh, the No. 41 singles player in the country.
Hattingh is also part of two nationally-ranked duos. Hattingh and Tereza Kolarova are ranked No. 38, while Hattingh and Sammi Hampton are ranked No. 49.
Sunday's match will be streamed online at this
link.
