TUCSON, Ariz. (February 4, 2021) – Looking for their first victory over their in-state rival in program history, the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks received an impressive result from the top of their lineup.
While the Lumberjacks fell 6-1 as a team, some of their individual performances bode well for the program going forward. Freshman
Gina Dittmann came away with a straight-set win as she remained at No. 1 in the order, while senior
Ellie Millard battled throughout a tough match at No. 2.
"The score may have not gone our way today, but we made huge strides on both personal and team goals," said NAU assistant coach
Christa Gecheva. "We are building a foundation that will set the tone for many matches ahead. Everyday we are working on something new and that's only possible if we take care of the previous goal, so I'm pleased to say that we will be working on a new objective tomorrow."
NAU earned its lone point of the day as Dittmann closed out her match at No. 1 with a 6-4 victory in the second set, moving the Lumberjacks within a point on the scoreboard at 2-1. Already holding a 6-2 set win to start the match, Dittmann rallied from a 3-4 deficit and won three straight games to close out the straight-set victory and finish her single match early.
Millard traded games back-and-forth with Jelena Lukic on Court 2, resulting in a 6-6 tie in the opening set. Falling 7-5 in a closet-contested tiebreaker to decide the set, Millard continued to play Lukic even with a 2-2 tie early on in the second set before falling 6-4.
Despite a quick start on two of the doubles courts, the Lumberjacks couldn't break through for the first team point of the day.
Elinor Beazley and Dittmann pulled ahead 3-1 at No. 2, as did
Madi Moore and
Ava Neyestani at No. 3. The Wildcats rallied to even up both courts a few games later, eventually taking a 6-3 win on Court 2 and a 6-4 win on Court 3.
Millard and
Mimi Bland trailed 2-1 before evening the score at 2-2 at No. 1. Arizona's top pairing of Heyemans and Iglupas took a 5-3 lead before NAU pushed the score back to 5-4. With the match on Court 2 already wrapped up, the eventual 6-4 win at No. 1 clinched the point for the Wildcats.
In singles, Neyestani fell behind 3-0 on Court 3 before cutting her first set deficit to 4-3. After falling 6-4, Neyestani opened the second set with a 2-0 advantage. At No. 6, Moore bounced back from a 6-2 loss in her opening set with a 6-2 victory of her own against No. 90 Emily Maxfield before ultimately dropping the third with another 6-2 decision.
With its Friday morning match against Gonzaga canceled, NAU will face off with Arizona again Friday morning for a 9 a.m. start.
Match Results:
Doubles:
