FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (April 7, 2020) – A slow start to the 2019 spring season did not deter the Northern Arizona women's tennis team. In fact, on the heels of a season-long 11-match winning streak, the Lumberjacks wound up punching a ticket to the NCAA Tournament for just the second time in program history last spring.
NAU, led by first-year head coach
Ewa Bogusz, opened the 2019 season at 4-8 before rattling off 11 consecutive victories en route to its fourth consecutive Big Sky regular season championship. The Lumberjacks finished last spring with a 15-9 record and a 9-1 mark in conference play.
Unlike the previous three seasons though, the Lumberjacks sealed up a trip to the Big Dance with a dominating performance in the conference tournament. Having been denied in the championship match by Idaho in each of the previous three years, NAU blanked Idaho, 4-0, on April 27, 2019 to snap a 20-year NCAA Tournament drought since the program's only other appearance in 1999.
The 2019 NAU women's tennis team opens serve on NAU Athletics' month-long Celebration of Champions spanning the 2019 spring and fall seasons and the 2019-20 winter season. Be sure to follow the celebration on
www.nauathletics.com and NAU Athletics on
Facebook,
Twitter and
Instagram.
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"When you have so many competitive spirits on one team, you add hard work to it and you stick together and trust the process, you know the outcome will be great. That team went through so much and they all stayed strong until the end and made it happen. Winning the championship was the best reward for their efforts they could ask for." – Head Coach
Ewa Bogusz
2019 NAU WOMEN'S TENNIS BY THE NUMBERS
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NAU made its second-ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The Lumberjacks' only previous NCAA appearance was 1999. |
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The Lumberjacks posted 11 consecutive victories before their season-ending loss to No. 7 UCLA in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The 11-match win streak was capped by a pair of 4-0 victories against Southern Utah and Idaho in the Big Sky semifinal and championship matches respectively. |
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NAU had five players – Chiara Tomasetti, Hanneke Lodewijks, Ellie Millard, Adrianna Sosnowska and Emilie Haakansson – earn all-conference honors between singles and doubles. |
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Ewa Bogusz was the third coach in program history to earn Big Sky Coach of the Year honors. |
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Chiara Tomasetti became the first 'Jack to be voted the Big Sky Most Valuable Player in 17 years since Yvonne de Waal in 2002. |
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Chiara Tomasetti set a new program record with 21 dual match singles wins. Tomasetti was an exceptional 21-2 in the spring following a spring season in which she became the first Lumberjack to win the ITA Mountain Regional singles championship. |
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Hanneke Lodewijks finished her career as NAU's all-time leader with 60 dual match doubles wins. She also finished first all-time in doubles win percentage (.789). |
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NAU concluded the 2019 spring season ranked eighth in the Oracle/ITA Mountain Region Rankings. The ranking tied the program's highest mark dating back to 2010. |
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Chiara Tomasetti was ranked as high as No. 75 in the national singles rankings heading into the spring season. The ranking was the highest by any Lumberjack until Tomasetti set a new bar at No. 44 during the abbreviated 2020 spring season. |
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At the end of the season, Hanneke Lodewijks and Ellie Millard ranked No. 58 in the national doubles rankings following their win over the No. 11 ranked pair from UCLA in the NCAA Tournament. |
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The 'Jacks had four players – Hanneke Lodewijks, Madi Moore, Cora-Lynn von Dungern and Adrianna Sosnowska – earn ITA Scholar-Athlete distinction. |
