FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (October 12, 2021) – Athletes from 20 different universities will compete in Las Vegas, Nev. this week as UNLV hosts the 2021 Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Mountain Region Championships from Wednesday through Sunday.
It will be the third consecutive edition of the tournament hosted by UNLV at its Fertitta Tennis Complex, with 12 courts hosting the singles and doubles tournaments.
Wednesday's opening Round of 64 for doubles beings at 9 a.m., followed by the opening round for singles play. Additional singles matches will be added to ensure each player at least two matches during the week.
Thursday includes another round of doubles as well as two singles rounds followed by Friday's two rounds of doubles and one for singles. Saturday will mark the semifinal round for doubles with the quarterfinals of singles and doubles before all finals are held on Sunday.
The Mountain Regional rankings at the end of the 2020-21 season placed Northern Arizona second as a team as well as
Gina Dittmann as the top singles player with
Mimi Bland ninth. Bland and
Ellie Millard also ranked 10th as a pair in doubles.
Five other schools from the Big Sky Conference will join Northern Arizona at the Mountain Regionals, with Idaho, Idaho State, Montana, Montana State and Weber State also scheduled to play this week.
The other 13 schools include Power Five programs Colorado and Utah from the Pac-12, as well as Mountain West programs Air Force, Boise State, Colorado State, Nevada, New Mexico, UNLV, Utah State and Wyoming. The remaining four schools include BYU (WCC), Denver (Summit League), Dixie State (WAC) and New Mexico State (WAC).
Dittmann, ranked No. 85 in the nation's preseason rankings, enters the week coming off an appearance at the ITA All-American Championships where she defeated No. 14 Vanessa Wong of Washington. Dittmann's national ranking makes her the highest ranked player from the Mountain Region.
The rest of Northern Arizona's roster last played at the ITA Bedford Cup in the Mountains between Sept. 23 and 26, a tournament that included many players who will also play at the Mountain Regionals.
Updates throughout the fall and spring seasons can also be found on all of the NAU women's tennis team social media accounts,
Twitter,
Instagram and
Facebook.
