FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (September 22, 2021) – Returning to the court for the first time since their appearance in the NCAA Tournament in May, the Northern Arizona women's tennis team heads to Colorado Springs, Colo. for the ITA Bedford Cup in the Mountains.
Joining the Lumberjacks on the trip to Colorado will be the Bedford Cup itself. Due to last season's cancellation of fall tennis, Northern Arizona has maintained possession of the trophy since Chiara Tomasetti's win in 2019. Tomasetti also reached the final of the first edition of the tournament in 2018.
All eight members of the roster will be competing, with
Elinor Beazley,
Mimi Bland,
Gina Dittmann,
Ellie Millard and
Ava Neyestani return to the team following a successful 2020-21 season while
Annabel Davis,
Laura Duhl and
Sofia Markova all make their debuts in blue and gold in the fall opener.
The tournament will be held at the Air Force Intercollegiate Tennis Courts a the Academy in Colorado Springs, with doubles matches beginning Thursday at 4:30 p.m. MST and competition kicking off at 8 a.m. MST on Friday for singles play. Players will take to the courts at 8 a.m. MST on Saturday and Sunday as well, with doubles and singles play continuing back-to-back across the weekend. The finals for both singles and doubles will be held on Sunday.
Northern Arizona will be joined by Air Force, the host of the tournament, Colorado, Colorado State, Denver, Idaho State, Montana State and Wyoming.
Dittmann enters the tournament as the No. 1-ranked player in the Mountain Region and No. 85 in the ITA Division I Women's Singles Preseason Top 125 released earlier this month. In the Mountain Region rankings released in June, Northern Arizona ranked No. 2 in the region as a team.
In addition to Dittmann landing atop the region's singles rankings, Bland earned the No. 9 spot in singles while also landing 10th in doubles alongside her partner Millard.
For updated scores and coverage of the NAU women's tennis team during the fall and spring seasons, follow the team on
Twitter,
Instagram and
Facebook.
