EL PASO, Texas (April 10, 2021) – Needing just 10 sets across six matches, the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks closed out their 10th win of the season and wrapped up their regular season road schedule Saturday afternoon in El Paso, Texas.
The second of two road contests in as many days, Saturday's matchup with the UTEP Miners (3-6) extended NAU's win streak to four straight matches as well as eight victories across their past nine. A pair of wins on Court 1 and 2 locked up the doubles point before straight set wins for
Mimi Bland,
Ellie Millard and
Ava Neyestani in singles locked up the 4-1 victory.
Elinor Beazley and
Gina Dittmann's 6-3 victory at No. 2 against Vanessa Valdez and Lina Sachica put the Lumberjacks ahead to start the day before Millard and Bland locked up the day's first point with a 6-4 victory of their own at No. 1.
Madi Moore and Neyestani led 5-3 in their match at No. 3, but went unfinished as the teams elected to not play out all nine matches.
UTEP evened the score at 1-1 with Elena Dibattista's win at No. 6, but NAU's remaining five singles players wound up in a race to clinch the team victory. Playing at No. 2 for the first time this season, Bland extended her win streak to 10 consecutive matches with a 6-3, 6-0 victory against Erandi Martinez.
Millard pushed the Lumberjacks to the brink of victory with her own 6-0, 6-2 win at No. 3, her sixth straight win in singles play dating back to the beginning of March.
With Dittmann leading her match 7-5, 2-0 and Beazley ahead 6-1, 5-5, it was Neyestani's 6-4, 6-1 victory at No. 4 that pushed the Lumberjacks to four points and gave her the first match-clinching point of her NAU career.
The early stoppage in play prevented Dittmann from reaching her 11th straight win of the season, as her own teammates became the first ones to hold the freshman without a win in singles since the end of January.
Now 10-4 this season, NAU returns to Flagstaff to face the Weber State Wildcats (6-9) next Saturday at the Aquatic and Tennis Complex. The Wildcats defeated the Idaho State Bengals 4-3 last week before this weekend's match against Sacramento State was postponed due to COVID-19 protocols within the Hornets' program.
The match will wrap up Big Sky Conference play for the Lumberjacks, and a victory would clinch the conference's south division as well as a berth in the conference tournament set for May 1 and 2 at the Phoenix Tennis Center.
Match Results:
Doubles:
- Ellie Millard/Mimi Bland (NAU) def. Hassane Abrahim/Veronika Lebisova (UTEP) def. 6-4*
- Elinor Beazley/Gina Dittmann (NAU) def. Vanessa Valdez/Lina Sachica (UTEP) 6-3
- Madi Moore/Ava Neyestani (NAU) vs. Kathleen Percegona/Lyric Bonilla (UTEP), 5-3 unfinished
*Clinched Doubles Point | Order of Finish: (2, 1)
Singles:
- Gina Dittmann (NAU) vs. Vanessa Valdez (UTEP) 7-5, 2-0 unfinished
- Mimi Bland (NAU) def. Erandi Martinez (UTEP) 6-3, 6-0
- Ellie Millard (NAU) def. Lina Sachica (UTEP) 6-0, 6-2
- Ava Neyestani (NAU) def. Thassane Abrahim (UTEP) 6-4, 6-1**
- Elinor Beazley (NAU) vs. Veronika Lebisova (UTEP) 6-1, 5-5 unfinished
- Elena Dibattista (UTEP) def. Madi Moore (NAU) 6-0, 6-0
**Clinched Match | Order of Finish: (6, 2, 3, 4)
