TEMPE, Ariz. (January 17, 2022) – Nearly pulling off a pair of comebacks from early deficits, the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks fell to the Arizona State Sun Devils 7-0 to open their spring season Monday in Tempe, Ariz.
Opening up with doubles play featuring three new pairings, the Lumberjacks battled with the Sun Devils at No. 1 and No. 3. Sophomore
Ava Neyestani and freshman
Annabel Davis took the opening game of their match against Arizona State's Marianna Argyrokastriti and Cali Jankowski on Court 3.
After holding a 3-2 advantage and staying even at 4-4, Neyestani and Davis eventually fell 6-4 with Arizona State clinching the doubles point following a 6-0 victory at No. 2. Meanwhile, junior
Mimi Bland and sophomore
Gina Dittmann battled back from a 3-0 deficit early on in their match to break serve while trailing just 4-3.
Arizona State bounced back to break Northern Arizona's serve, retaking a 5-3 lead before the match came to an early end.
Though the Sun Devils clinched the victory and swept singles play in straight sets, Bland and sophomore
Sofia Markova battled throughout their two-set matches.
Bland fell behind 4-1 in her opening set against Sedona Gallagher at No. 3, but rallied back to even up the score at 5-5. Though Gallagher pulled out a 7-5 victory in the first set, Bland answered back with a 5-1 lead in the second set before Gallagher put together a rally of her own.
However, with the second set tied 6-6 after Bland forced a tiebreaker with a win in the 12th game, the junior fell 7-2 to wrap up Northern Arizona's day in Tempe.
Similarly, Markova's first spring match with the Lumberjacks included an early 3-0 lead against Argyrokastriti at No. 4 before the set was tied up at 5-5. Just as was the case for Bland, Markova ultimately fell 7-5 in the first set and dropped the second 6-3.
Northern Arizona's regular season continues Feb. 4 and 5 in Albuquerque, New Mexico as the Lumberjacks face the New Mexico Lobos and the Abilene Christian Wildcats. For updated scores and coverage of the NAU women's tennis team during the spring season, follow the team on
Twitter,
Instagram and
Facebook.
Match Results:
Doubles:
- Domenika Turkovic/Patricija Spaka (ASU) def. Gina Dittmann/Mimi Bland (NAU) def. 5-3, unfinished
- Giulia Morlet/Sedona Gallagher (ASU) def. Elinor Beazley/Sofia Markova (NAU) 6-0
- Marianna Argyrokastriti/Cali Jankowski (ASU) vs. Ava Neyestani/Annabel Davis (NAU), 6-4*
*Clinched Doubles Point | Order of Finish: (2, 3)
Singles:
- Giulia Morlet (ASU) vs. Gina Dittmann (NAU) 6-3, 6-1
- Domenika Turkovic (ASU) def. Ellie Millard (NAU) 6-3, 6-1**
- Sedona Gallagher (ASU) def. Mimi Bland (NAU) 7-5, 7-6 (7-2)
- Marianna Argyrokastriti (ASU) def. Sofia Markova (NAU) 7-5, 6-3
- Cali Jankowski (ASU) vs. Ava Neyestani (NAU) 6-3, 6-2
- Patricija Spaka (ASU) def. Elinor Beazley (NAU) 6-0, 6-1
**Clinched Match | Order of Finish: (6, 5, 2, 1, 4, 3)
