FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (June 16, 2021) – Finally back on the court after 11 months away, the Northern Arizona women's tennis team wasted no time in proving they were on a mission to defend their Big Sky Conference title.
After a pair of 7-0 victories over Dixie State to open the season, Northern Arizona headed south for a trio of Pac-12 matches, first at Arizona State followed by two at Arizona. From there, the Lumberjacks won 12 of their next 13 matches and returned to the NCAA Tournament.
The sweep through NAU's five Big Sky matches, three in the regular season and two in the postseason, made head coach
Ewa Bogusz a perfect 2-for-2 at the conference tournament. With the 2020 championship canceled, Bogusz has led the Lumberjacks to a conference title in her two other seasons while also earning Big Sky Coach of the Year honors in each season as well.
While the Big Sky split into two divisions for the 2021 season, the Lumberjacks captured the South Division title to essentially extend their run of regular season titles while finishing the year 14-5 overall.
Just two of NAU's six players had any postseason experience, as the roster of two seniors, two sophomores and two true freshmen entered the year with very little playing experience together. However, the relatively inexperienced roster stood up to its placement as preseason favorites with victories over Sacramento State, Idaho State and Weber State giving NAU its place atop the South. A 4-0 sweep of Portland State set up a rematch with the Wildcats, one the Lumberjacks battled through for a 4-2 win and another conference crown.
After NAU went 20 years between NCAA appearances, Bogusz has led the Lumberjacks to back-to-back appearances and returns five of her six players from this year's roster heading into the 2021-22 campaign.
NAU women's tennis is the fifth feature in NAU Athletics' Champions Week celebrating the department's national and conference champions. Be sure to follow Champions Week on
www.nauathletics.com and on social media on
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Instagram.
FROM THE COACH
"I can't express enough how happy I am with the year we had. Now that everything has slowed down and we've had some time to reflect on it even more, I'm really proud of this team. They've played very steady the entire season, stepped it up in the important moments, really played as one team and for each other, and because of all that we were able to achieve the goals we set at the beginning. Defending the Big Sky title was huge, it tested us mentally, we also had a good performance in the NCAA's against Pepperdine who came just short of a National title, and I just can't wait to see almost entire roster back in action next fall." – Head Coach
Ewa Bogusz
2021 NAU WOMEN'S TENNIS BY THE NUMBERS
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NAU had just two players with Big Sky Conference Tournament experience, as Ellie Millard and Madi Moore were the last remaining players from the 2019 championship team. |
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The Lumberjacks reached their third NCAA Tournament as they faced off with No. 5 seed Pepperdine. The highest-ranked team the Lumberjacks have ever faced, the Waves ended NAU's 8-match win streak with a 4-0 victory in the NCAA Tournament. |
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NAU had five players earn All-Big Sky Conference honors, with Gina Dittmann, Ellie Millard, Mimi Bland, Ava Neyestani and Elinor Beazley were all earning accolades following the tournament. |
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Gina Dittmann became the first Big Sky player to win the conference's MVP and Freshman of the Year awards in the same season. |
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Gina Dittmann finished her freshman season on a 13-match win streak and dropped just three full sets throughout the year. |
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Breaking into the final Oracle ITA Division I Women's Singles rankings, Gina Dittmann finished the year 117th in the nation. |
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With 25 career doubles wins at No. 3, Madi Moore finished in a tie for third on NAU's all-time No. 3 doubles wins list. |
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Adding three more victories at No. 3 in singles, Ellie Millard passed five former Lumberjacks to move into fifth all-time on Court 3 with 15 victories. |
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Now at 41 career singles victories spanning all courts, Ellie Millard is just seven victories away from tying for 10th in program history. Millard plans to return to the Lumberjacks for an additional season. |
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Already at 14 career victories on Court 1, Gina Dittmann is eighth all-time in singles victories at No. 1 after just one season with the Lumberjacks. |
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All six of NAU's regular lineup earned a Golden Eagle Scholar-Athlete Award, while senior Madi Moore also earned a Gold Axe award. |
