LAS VEGAS, Nev. (March 12, 2021) – Starting the day following a three-hour day and picking up after another two-hour stoppage, the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks (6-3) endured the weather in Las Vegas for a fourth straight victory against the Mountain West Conference.
After dropping the doubles point following an extended battle into a tiebreaker at the top spot, the Lumberjacks swept the top half of singles play against the UNLV Rebels (2-4) with
Elinor Beazley clinching the victory at No. 6.
"This had to be my favorite match of the year. The girls really came together in moments of adversity and took on battles together as a team," said Lumberjacks assistant coach
Christa Gecheva. "After a tough loss for the doubles point, we had to bounce back at our best to give ourselves a chance."
The victory, NAU's fourth straight overall after a trio of wins in Flagstaff, included the season debut for
Aleksandra Buczynska after the junior transfer from Barry University.
Buczynska's match at No. 5 was the only singles contest to go unfinished, but included one of three first-set tiebreakers for the Lumberjacks. Never separated by more than a game with UNLV's Aura Fang, the match moved into a tiebreaker after coming to a 6-6 draw in Buczynska's first set of the season. Jumping out to a 3-1 lead, Buczynska closed out the set victory 7-3.
"We are happy to have Ola debut with NAU at such a competitive match and we are excited to see what she brings to our team," Gecheva said.
Before landing in a two-hour rain delay, NAU tied the match at 2-2 thanks to a pair of wins at the top of the lineup. Senior
Ellie Millard rolled through her match on Court 2 against En Pei Huang 6-1, 6-1 for NAU's first point of the day.
Gina Dittmann won her sixth straight singles match, beating UNLV's Izumi Asano 6-1, 6-2 and evening the team score at 2-2. Three of Dittmann's wins against Mountain West opponents came in straight sets, with Friday the fourth singles victory that came after dropping four or less games.
Mimi Bland and
Elinor Beazley entered the rain delay with first-set tiebreakers already in hand and leads in their second sets.
Bland, looking for her fifth straight win at No. 3, led 3-1 against Connie Li in the opening set before falling into a tie late. Even at 5-5, Bland went into a tiebreaker and came out with a 7-2 victory. Up 3-0 before the delay, Bland completed a perfect second set at 6-0 to push the Lumberjacks ahead at 3-2.
Beazley trailed by a game for much of her singles match on Court 6, turing a 5-4 deficit into her 7-6 victory by winning two of the final three games as well as the tiebreaker at 7-4.
Winning the first game of her second set, Beazley entered the break with a slight advantage before closing out the team victory with a 6-1 win.
"The two-plus hour rain delay made the day long, but when it got back to showtime, our girls came back with even bigger energy than before," Gecheva said. "It was a great team effort and everyone played a major role to get today's win."
With UNLV leading doubles 1-0, NAU kept the No. 1 and No. 2 matches tight while looking to open the day with a one-point advantage.
Beazley and Dittmann led 3-2 on Court 2, holding the advantage to 6-5 before being forced into a tiebreaker. Before the two could wrap up their match at No. 2, Millard and Bland's tiebreaker on Court 1 came to a close.
Locked into a tight match with Asano and Huang, who entered the season ranked at No. 13 in the Oracle ITA Women's Doubles Top 60, Bland and Millard pushed the pairing throughout the match before falling 7-6.
After nearly six weeks of matches in Arizona, and one quick trip to Nevada, NAU will head to Northern California for a pair of matches next week. First facing the Pacific Tigers on Friday at noon, the Lumberjacks will finally open Big Sky Conference play on Saturday at noon against the Sacramento State Hornets.
Match Results:
Doubles:
