TUCSON, Ariz. (February 5, 2021) – Facing off with the Arizona Wildcats for the second time in less than 24 hours, the Northern Arizona women's tennis team produced a few exciting matches early on and to close out the day.
After nearly taking the doubles point from the Wildcats, freshman
Gina Dittmann cruised to another straight set victory at No. 1 while
Mimi Bland rallied back after dropping the first set for a win of her own at No. 3. In the meantime, both
Madi Moore and
Elinor Beazley battled through 7-5 decisions in sets of their respective matches at No. 6 and No. 5.
"We had big chances to win the doubles point which comes down to small details that make all the difference," said NAU assistant coach
Christa Gecheva. "Several close singles matches too, so we were right there with them. Overall good weekend in terms of progress and being on the right track. The foundation continues to get stronger."
The Lumberjacks opened the day in a battle on two doubles courts. Bland and
Ellie Millard led by a game for much of their match at the top spot, while Beazley and Dittmann fought through for multiple ties in their set at No. 3.
Up 2-1, then 4-3 and finally 6-5, Bland and Millard took a step forward from Thursday afternoon's 6-4 loss. Though Arizona's pair of Gitte Heynemans and Khim Iglupas ultimately came away with the victory, they needed a 7-3 victory in a tiebreaker to claim the 7-6 win.
Meanwhile, Dittmann and Beazley evened the match at 1-1, 3-3 and finally 6-6, fighting back from a 5-4 deficit to take a 6-5 lead. Pushed into a tiebreak of their own, the pair of underclassmen beat Emily Maxfield and Kayla Wilkins 7-2 to take the final doubles match.
Dittmann carried the success into singles, where she dominated her opening set against Jelena Lukic. Earning a 6-0 victory to start her match on Court 1, Dittmann closed out the first singles decision with a 6-4 final in the second set.
Improving to 4-1 in singles this season, with her lone loss coming against a Top 40 player in the country, Dittmann's weekend in Tucson included three victories across her combined four matches of singles and doubles play.
Facing off with the Heynemans at No. 6, Moore continued to battle in singles as she did Thursday. Down 3-1, Moore won four of the next six games to even the set at 5-5 before Heynemans took the opening set 7-5. Similarly, Beazley trailed 5-2 in her second set before putting the pressure back on to at No. 5. Cutting into the lead, Beazley won three of the next four games to come within a game at 6-5 before Iglupas closed out the win.
At No. 3, Bland dropped her first set 6-1 before rebounding with an impressive second-set result. Jumping ahead 2-1, Bland held off Talya Zandberg at 5-4 for a 6-4 victory. Wrapping up the day for the Lumberjacks, Bland earned NAU's second point with a 10-5 win in a third-set tiebreaker.
NAU returns home to face Utah State next Saturday, with the match beginning at 10 a.m. Last season, the Lumberjacks beat the Aggies 5-2 in Logan, Utah, with a pair of singles matches decided in third sets, and another pushed to tiebreakers in both the first and second set.
Match Results:
Doubles:
- Gitte Heynemans/Khim Iglupas (UA) def. Ellie Millard/Mimi Bland (NAU), 7-6 (7-3)*
- Jelena Lukic/Talya Zandberg (UA) def. Madi Moore/Ava Neyestani (NAU), 6-3
- Elinor Beazley/Gina Dittmann (NAU) def. Emily Maxfield/Kayla Wilkins (UA), 7-6 (7-2)
*Clinched Doubles Point | Order of Finish: 2, 1, 3
Singles:
- Gina Dittmann (NAU) def. Jelena Lukic (UA), 6-0, 6-4
- Kayla Wilkins (UA) def. Ellie Millard (NAU), 6-4, 6-1
- Mimi Bland (NAU) def. Talya Zandberg (UA), 1-6, 6-4, 10-5
- Abby Amos (UA) def. Ava Neyestani (NAU), 6-3, 6-2**
- Khim Iglupas (UA) def. Elinor Beazley (NAU), 6-2, 7-5
- Gitte Heynemans (UA) def. Madi Moore (NAU), 7-5, 6-0
**Clinched Match | Order of Finish: 1, 2, 6, 4, 5, 3
