FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (March 2, 2022) – Having faced a trio of nationally-ranked Pac 12 opponents during their extended run of road matches to open the season, the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks head to Wyoming for one last road match before making their home debut.
Set to play the Cowgirls (5-6) at 5 p.m. on Thursday, March 3, the Lumberjacks (1-5) will hope to snap a four-match losing streak dating back to Feb. 18 against the Arizona Wildcats. It's the longest losing streak for the Lumberjacks since the 2018-19 season. Playing slightly shorthanded, with
Ellie Millard and
Mimi Bland absent from the lineup last week, Northern Arizona's 13-match win streak in the Big Sky Conference was broken by the Weber State Wildcats.
Northern Arizona and Wyoming have met eight times in their histories, with the teams trading wins and losses since their second meeting in 2007. Leading 5-3 in the eight meetings so far, the Lumberjacks defeated the Cowgirls 5-2 in Flagstaff last season.
After dropping the doubles point, with all three matches finishing on a 6-4 victory for the Cowgirls, the Lumberjacks came away with five singles wins. Three of the victories came in three sets, as
Gina Dittmann,
Elinor Beazley and
Madi Moore all bounced back from first set losses to win the second and the third.
All six singles players from the match last February return for the Cowgirls, with No. 1 Maria Oreshkina holding a 4-5 record overall. Four different players have taken the court at No. 2 with a combined record of 7-3. Noesjka Brink, who fell to
Ava Neyestani 6-3, 6-1 at No. 4 last season, holds a 7-1 record this spring including a 5-0 record at No. 3.
The lone Cowgirl to earn a singles victory over the Lumberjacks last season, Sophie Zehender is 2-0 at No. 1 and 2-1 at No. 2 this season. Both Oreshkina and Zehender earned All-Mountain West Singles in 2021, finishing 4-4 and 4-3 in their conference matches.
Three of Wyoming's victories this spring have come against non-Division I opponents while the other was against Southeastern Louisiana on Feb. 5. The Cowgirls also defeated the Montana State Bobcats 5-2 in October before falling 4-3 in mid-January.
Dittmann leads the Lumberjacks with three singles wins this season followed by four players with two victories each. While Dittmann has remained at No. 1 for every match this season, four different Lumberjacks have played at No. 2. Bland has won two of her three matches on Court 2 this season, while
Sofia Markova is 2-1 at No. 3.
During the fall schedule, three Lumberjacks played singles matches against the Cowgirls.
Annabel Davis defeated Ida Krause 7-5, 6-0, Markova beat Ana Fernandez Villa 5-7, 6-2, 6-4 and Neyestani won 6-3, 6-0 against Alyse Cormier at the ITA Bedford Cup in the Mountains. The schools also met in five doubles matches with the Lumberjacks taking four of the matches.
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