FARMINGTON, Utah (January 8, 2020) – With five of their top six players from last season's Big Sky Championship team back this spring, the Northern Arizona women's tennis team was picked as the unanimous preseason favorite in the 2020 Big Sky Women's Tennis Preseason Poll announced on Wednesday. The Lumberjacks earned all 10 possible first-place votes by the league's head coaches as coaches were not allowed to vote for their own team.
The Lumberjacks' 100 points in the poll outpaced Weber State, who earned the only remaining first-place vote and 86 total points for the preseason's second slot. Idaho, who fell to NAU in the conference tournament championship match last spring, is in third with 79 points followed by Eastern Washington, Sacramento State and Montana in the fourth through sixth positions.
Idaho State placed seventh and the poll was rounded out by Southern Utah, Montana State, Portland State and Northern Colorado in succession. The top six teams at the end of the regular season will qualify for the Big Sky Championships to be held in Phoenix once again at the Phoenix Tennis Center from April 23-25.
Over the last four years, the 'Jacks have gone 41-2 in Big Sky regular season matches in winning four consecutive regular season titles. The Lumberjacks posted a 15-9 overall record and a 9-1 mark in conference last spring before winning the conference tournament title and advancing to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1999.
NAU returns five of its six primary players from a season ago in senior
Chiara Tomasetti, juniors
Ellie Millard and
Madi Moore and sophomores
Adrianna Sosnowska and
Emilie Haakansson.
Tomasetti is the reigning Big Sky Most Valuable Player and earned her third All-Big Sky First Team honor. She was joined on the all-conference list by Haakansson (Second Team) and Sosnowska (Honorable Mention). Millard also garnered All-Big Sky First Team honors in doubles, with graduating senior
Hanneke Lodewijks, for the second straight year.
Heading into the spring season, NAU also sports the only nationally-ranked players in the conference. Tomasetti enters the spring ranked No. 57 in singles while Sosnowska and freshman
Mimi Bland are ranked No. 25 in doubles following an impressive fall season.
NAU begins the 2020 spring season in Hawaii at the Weinman Foundation Invitational. The 'Jacks will compete against Hawai'i, Washington State, BYU and Louisville in matches from Thursday through Saturday.
2020 Big Sky Preseason Coaches Poll (First-Place Votes in Parentheses)
