FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (June 2, 2021) – A 15-1 record in her debut season earned
Gina Dittmann the Big Sky Conference Freshman of the Year and MVP awards, and now it placed her in the national rankings.
Landing at No. 117 in the final Oracle ITA Division I Women's Singles Rankings of the year, Dittmann earned her first career ranking and the first for the team since
Chiara Tomasetti wrapped up her career at No. 45 in the March 3, 2020 rankings.
Dittmann, currently on a 13-match win streak in singles play, wrapped up her freshman season with an impressive performance against Pepperdine's Ashley Lahey during NAU's first-round match against the Waves in the NCAA Tournament.
After taking the first set 6-2, Dittmann's match went unfinished as Pepperdine clinched the 4-0 team victory. Lahey, ranked No. 51 in the final rankings, led 3-2 in the second set at the time of the stoppage. Midway through the year, Dittmann earned her first victory over a nationally-ranked opponent, beating Pacific's Klara Kosan 7-5, 6-2 on the road. Kosan wrapped up the 2020 season at No. 51 in the ITA rankings and stood at No. 70 when she faced Dittmann.
The victory led to the second of two Big Sky Player of the Week honors for Dittmann, the first coming just four weeks into her NAU career. Dittmann's 14 victories on Court 1 already ranks her eighth all-time for the Lumberjacks and is 13 away from tying for a spot in the top five.
Dittmann dropped just three full sets during the regular season with her lone match loss coming in a 10-point tiebreaker as a deciding set against Arizona State's Ilze Hattingh. Following a 7-5 loss to Hattingh, ranked No. 37 at the time, Dittmann battled back for a 7-6 second-set victory before falling 10-8 to conclude her third career match for NAU. Hattingh landed at No. 45 in the final ITA rankings.
Just one player from the Mountain Region landed higher than Dittmann in the national rankings, with Colorado's Sara Nayar holding No. 100 among the 125 total ranked, and no other Big Sky Conference players were included in the rankings.
Click
here for the full singles rankings.
