NAU Women's Tennis Tops New Mexico 4-0 to Continue Home Streak

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (March 7, 2021) – Looking to complete a sweep of three Mountain West Conference matches over the past month, the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks pulled out a closely contested doubles point before dominating early on in singles.

Even at 1-1 after the first two doubles matches wrapped up, the Lumberjacks (5-3) closed out their match on Court 3 for the first point of the day. A trio of 6-0 first sets in singles then paved the way for NAU to close out their third straight win against a Mountain West opponent, beating the New Mexico Lobos (4-2) 4-0 and extending their home winning streak to 15 matches in the process.

"We did have a great start in singles, and I almost feel like that relaxed us a little too much," said NAU head coach Ewa Bogusz. "We just need to make sure, even if things are going our way and things are going right, that we still focus 100 percent."

Once again, NAU's pair of freshmen Gina Dittmann and Ava Neyestani were instrumental in the victory. Along with Mimi Bland, the two extended their personal win streaks in singles with wins in all three of their meetings against Mountain West opponents. Dittmann's 6-0, 6-0 victory at No. 1 against Danielle Quevedo extended her run to five straight matches and a 6-1 record at the top spot in the lineup.

Neyestani also jumped out to an early lead, closing out her first set 6-0 before battling with Myu Kagayama at No. 4. Leading 3-1 in the second set, Neyestani found herself in position to close out the victory while leading 5-4.

"They have been such a crucial part of the team and made an impact on the lineup right away," Bogusz said. "They are so delightful to work with and they just bought into what we are trying to do here. They work hard, do extra work and they do all the things you'd wish freshmen would do."

Ahead 3-0 following Dittmann and Neyestani's wins, Bland also ended up in a fight for her second set. Winning 6-0 in the first set on Court 3, Bland led 5-3 in the second before Hsuan Huang ripped off three straight games to take the lead in the set. 

Bland forced a tiebreaker with a victory in the 12th game of the set, and clinched the team win with a 7-5 tiebreaker.

While the match ended after Bland's win, the three other Lumberjacks led their singles matches as well.

Ellie Millard and Moore posted identical scores at No. 2 and No. 6 respectively, taking their first sets 6-4 and led 4-3 in their second sets before the match finished. A few courts across NAU's Tennis Complex, Beazley rallied back after dropping her first set to Hsiang-Wen Huang at No. 5.

Following her 6-3 loss, Beazley won eight straight games to close out her day. Taking the second set 6-0, the sophomore opened up the potential deciding third set with two more games before the match wrapped up.

Beazley opened her day with an impressive win in doubles, pairing with Dittmann for a quick 6-1 victory on Court 2. After New Mexico evened the score with a 6-4 victory on Court 1, Moore and Neyestani pulled out three consecutive games for their own 6-4 victory.

NAU heads back out on the road next week, facing the UNLV Rebels on Friday at 11 a.m. in Las Vegas.

Match Results:
Doubles:

1. Natasha Munday/Hsuan Huang, (NM) def. Ellie Millard/Mimi Bland (NAU), 6-4
2. Elinor Beazley/Gina Dittmann (NAU) def. Danielle Quevedo/Hsiang-Wen Huang (NM), 6-1
3. Madi Moore/Ava Neyestani (NAU) def. Myu Kagayama/Satoho Toriumi (NM), 6-4*

*Clinched Doubles Point | Order of Finish: 2, 1, 3
 
Singles:

1. Gina Dittmann (NAU) def. Danielle Quevedo (NM), 6-0, 6-0
2. Ellie Millard (NAU) vs. Natasha Munday (NM), 6-4, 4-3 unfinished
3. Mimi Bland (NAU) def. Hsuan Huang (NM), 6-0, 7-6 (7-5)**
4. Ava Neyestani (NAU) def. Myu Kagayama (NM), 6-0, 6-4
5. Elinor Beazley (NAU) vs. Hsiang-Wen Huang (NM), 3-6, 6-0, 2-0 unfinished
6. Madi Moore (NAU) vs. Satoho Toriumi (NM), 6-4, 4-3 unfinished

**Clinched Match | Order of Finish: 1, 4, 3