FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (February 26, 2021) – After a week away from play, the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks (3-3) return to their home courts at the Aquatic and Tennis Complex looking to extend their home win streak.
Now at 13 consecutive matches dating back to February 2019, NAU's streak will be put to the test against the Wyoming Cowgirls (4-3) who are coming off of a 4-3 victory against the Creighton Bluejays in Omaha this past Saturday. After losing the doubles point to start their match, the Cowgirls rattled off wins at No. 2, No. 3, No. 4 and No. 5 to pull out the team victory. Tied at 3-3 with Court 3 into a third set, Wyoming's Sophie Zehender closed out the day with a 6-1, 2-6, 6-3 win.
"We spent a decent amount of time working on our doubles and adjusting some small things we saw we could improve upon in our last match," said NAU head coach
Ewa Bogusz. "I feel like we are a better team than two weeks ago as long as we can transition it to playing under pressure."
While Bogusz has already faced Wyoming, where she spent five seasons as an assistant coach, twice while coaching at NAU, it will be the first time assistant coach
Christa Gecheva sees her alma mater as a Lumberjack. Playing for the Cowgirls from 2011 to 2015, and coaching for a pair of seasons in the years following, Gecheva spent many years with Wyoming's program, including her time playing for both Ewa and
Maciej Bogusz.
"I know Christa will be very excited to see their head coach (Dean Clower), we all remain good friends," Bogusz said. "On the court, we hope to get a win here at home as last time when they visited NAU."
The two programs last faced off in Laramie during the 2019 season, with the Cowgirls beating the Lumberjacks 4-1 during a road trip that included a stop in Greeley, Colo. to face Big Sky foe Northern Colorado. NAU played down a player in singles during the match, shifting some in the lineup up a position, after beating Wyoming 5-2 in Flagstaff during the 2018 season. Seniors
Ellie Millard and
Madi Moore win their singles matches, at No. 4 and No. 6 respectively, during the team victory in their freshmen seasons. Half of Wyoming's roster faced NAU in 2019, with juniors Maria Oreshkina, Ana Fernandez and Mihaela Kaftanova playing either singles or doubles in their team's victory.
Oreshkina and Zehender, a freshman from Germany, have split time at No. 1 this season, combining for a 2-5 record at the top spot in the lineup. The two also hold a 4-3 record together at No. 2, with Fernandez the primary No. 3 player holding a 2-4 record this season. The back half of the lineup has been a mix of Wyoming's five other players on the roster.
For NAU, four Lumberjacks are entering Saturday coming off singles wins a week and a half ago against the Utah State Aggies. Coming up with a 5-2 victory to improve to 3-0 in Flagstaff this season, freshman
Gina Dittmann won her singles match in straight sets, as did
Mimi Bland at No. 3,
Ava Neyestani at No. 4 and
Elinor Beazley at No. 5. Dittmann, who's five victories have all come in straight sets this season, holds a three-match win streak at No. 1 entering Saturday while Bland has won two straight at No. 3.
Dittmann and Beazley have also won two straight in doubles, with wins on Court 2 against Utah State and Court 3 in Tucson against Arizona.
Make sure to follow the NAU women's tennis team on
Twitter,
Instagram and
Facebook for updates throughout the season.
