| Northern Arizona at No. 24 Arizona State |
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (January 29, 2021) – Following a pair of 7-0 sweeps against the Dixie State Trailblazers on Saturday, this weekend presents a new kind of test for the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks.
Set for a meeting in Tempe with the No. 24 Arizona State Sun Devils (2-1), the Lumberjacks (2-0) will face off with their first nationally-ranked opponent of the season this Sunday. Arizona State also boasts a top 50-ranked doubles pairing and one of last spring's top 50 singles players.
Sunday's match will be available online at
Pac-12.com while live stats will also be available
online and updates posted on the team's Twitter throughout the match.
"We appreciate every opportunity we get like this, especially in a COVID era where we don't get to travel that far to play teams of this caliber," said NAU head coach
Ewa Bogusz said. "We look forward to this match every year as a day where we can test our skills and see where we are."
Arizona State's Ilze Hattingh opened the season ranked No. 21 in doubles with partner Tereza Kolarova and tied for No. 50 with Lauryn John-Baptiste, while also closing out the 2019-20 season as the nation's No. 40 singles player.
Hattingh has not paired with Kolarova in Arizona State's first three matches of the season, instead going 1-1 with John-Baptiste. Following a 6-0 loss to No. 20 Baylor at the top doubles spot last Saturday, Hattingh and John-Baptiste beat Iowa's top pair 6-4 on Sunday.
Hattingh is also 1-1 in singles, with a 6-2, 6-4 win over the Lopes to start the season and a 4-6, 6-3, 2-6 loss to the Bears. The senior's match against Iowa went unfinished as the Sun Devils came away with a 4-0 victory to wrap up the ITA Kickoff Weekend in Austin, Texas.
Chiara Tomasetti defeated Hattingh when NAU faced Arizona State last spring, but the Lumberjacks' four returners fell in their respective matches.
Ellie Millard played at No. 3 in singles during last season's meeting, with
Mimi Bland at No. 5 and
Madi Moore at No. 6.
Elinor Beazley paired with
Emilie Haakansson at the No. 3 doubles spot, while Bland played at No. 1 with
Adrianna Sosnowska and Millard partnered with Tomasetti at No. 2.
"We want to treat it like every other match and I want my players to play as hard against ASU as they played against Dixie State or as they are going to play in the Big Sky Conference," Bogusz said. "I'm just getting them ready for the opportunities we are going to have."
All six of NAU's singles players enter the weekend with perfect 2-0 records, as do the three new doubles pairings as the Lumberjacks swept through the Trailblazers in both singles and doubles to start the season.
Millard earned Big Sky Player of the Week honors for her performance with Bland at the top doubles spot in addition to her wins at No. 1 and No. 2 in singles. With the two wins at No. 1 doubles, Millard improved her program-best win percentage at the top spot as the senior is now 16-3 in her career. Millard also sits just four doubles wins at No. 1 away from moving into NAU's all-time top 10 while already ranking among the top 10 for doubles wins at No. 2.
Make sure to follow the NAU women's tennis team on
Twitter,
Instagram and
Facebook for updates throughout the season.
