Northern Arizona Men’s Tennis Begins Spring Home Schedule Against Utah State

Northern Arizona vs. New Mexico

MATCH 3	Northern Arizona vs. Utah State (Monday, March 8 \| 10 a.m.)
	Live Stats
LOCATION	Aquatic and Tennis Complex \| Flagstaff, Ariz.
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FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (March 6, 2021) – After having their first home matches postponed, the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks will look to open its home 2021 spring season this upcoming Monday, March 8, to the Utah State Aggies.

Northern Arizona began its season almost a month ago in an away season-opener to Arizona State on Feb. 7. Since then, the 'Jacks have seen two more matches in a doubleheader against University of Arizona on Feb. 19.

Against the Sun Devils, the Lumberjacks successfully bested one singles court. In a three-set win after an initial 6-1 loss, Steele flipped the score to a 6-4 game in the second and third. As such, Steele is the only Lumberjack so far to earn their first singles win.

Arizona posed a tough match for NAU. Winning both matches 7-0 over the 'Jacks, the Wildcats improved their season record to 9-1.

During the first match of the doubleheader, the men forced three tiebreaker games amongst different courts. Steele, freshman Dominik Buzonics, and junior Facundo Tumosa, all challenged the Cats on their respective courts. Unfortunately, against the then No. 21 program, the Lumberjacks were unable to pull ahead.

Looking forward to this Monday, Utah State began its season back in Jan. and already holds a 5-3 record. The Aggies have played against three Big Sky Conference schools, taking wins over all opponents.

USU opened its season up to Big Sky's Idaho on Jan. 23 to begin their positive record with a 5-2 win. The Aggies would find the same result versus Weber State on Feb. 14, and a 6-1 victory over Eastern Washington a week prior.

Despite the losses for the conference opponents, there is hope for the Lumberjacks to have their first season win in their upcoming battle against Utah State. In the Big Sky Coaches Poll voted on Jan. 7, Eastern Washington was projected to finish in last in the conference, with Idaho in sixth, and Weber State in third. The Lumberjacks were voted as the preseason favorite, tied with Montana at 58 points.

Utah State most recently faced a 4-0 shutout loss against the University of Utah. In addition to this, the Aggies also fell 4-2 to the Lumberjacks during the 2019-20 season.

In the 4-2 achievement for NAU, the 'Jacks clinched the doubles point to start out ahead of USU. With a win from pairings Eban Straker-Meads and Facundo Tumosa, as well as Alex Groves and recent graduate David Nguyen, Northern Arizona went into the singles matches with the early advantage.

Northern Arizona would confirm their sixth win of the 2020 spring season after singles wins from all-current Lumberjacks, Straker-Meads (6-4, 6-0), Groves (2-6, 6-2, 6-3), and Daniel Dillon (6-4, 6-2).

While there are no spectators allowed at the 10 a.m. Monday morning match, there will be live stats available for friends, family and fans to follow along.

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Players Mentioned

David Nguyen: Redshirt Junior

Daniel Dillon: Junior

Alex Groves: Sophomore

Eban Straker-Meads: Senior

Facundo Tumosa: Junior

Dominik Buzonics: Freshman

Players Mentioned

David Nguyen
: Redshirt Junior

Daniel Dillon
: Junior

Alex Groves
: Sophomore

Eban Straker-Meads
: Senior

Facundo Tumosa
: Junior

Dominik Buzonics
: Freshman