FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (March 21, 2022) – Returning home with a split of their pair of matches in Northern California, the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks host two Big Sky rivals who sit in the top half of the conference standings.
Idaho State (6-3, 2-0 Big Sky) faces Northern Arizona (3-7, 1-1) Wednesday morning at the Aquatic and Tennis Complex with Eastern Washington (3-8, 2-2) set to take on the Lumberjacks on Sunday afternoon as part of a doubleheader with the NAU men's tennis team.
The Bengals head to Flagstaff for the second consecutive season, and third straight meeting with the Lumberjacks, while the Eagles will face the Lumberjacks for the first time since 2019. Northern Arizona and Eastern Washington just missed playing one another in last season's Big Sky Conference Championship match, as the Eagles won the North Division with a 4-0 record before falling in the semifinals to the Weber State Wildcats 4-2.
Entering the week with a 19-match home win streak dating back to the 2018-19 season, and a 27-match home win streak over Big Sky opponents, the Lumberjacks are looking for their first back-to-back wins of the season.
The victim of three 4-3 losses this season, Northern Arizona is looking to build off its 5-2 win at Sacramento on Friday.
Gina Dittmann enters the week on a six-match win streak, now holding 21 career victories at No. 1 to rank sixth in program history.
Dittmann is also on a four-match win streak in doubles play, with the past three all coming with
Ava Neyestani as her partner at No. 3.
Sofia Markova also enters the week on a win streak, with three consecutive wins in the past two weeks, and
Mimi Bland returned to the lineup to win a pair of singles matches over the same stretch.
IDAHO STATE
One of three remaining undefeated teams in the Big Sky Conference, Idaho State is coming off a 6-1 victory over Eastern Washington this past Friday in Pocatello.
The Bengals' trip to Arizona will include four matches, with it beginning in the Valley against Grand Canyon and Ottawa Arizona on Monday and Tuesday before making the trip to Flagstaff. Idaho State will then take on Arizona Christian Thursday before heading to California for a conference match against Sacramento State on Saturday.
Voted to finish eighth of the nine schools in the Big Sky, Idaho State has already outperformed expectations while returning the majority of its lineup from a season ago. Finishing 8-8 during the 2020-21 season, the Bengals missed the Big Sky Tournament after finishing behind Northern Arizona and Weber State in the Big Sky's South Division.
Beating the Bengals 5-2 last season, the Lumberjacks won four singles matches in straight sets and split a pair of third sets at No. 5 and No. 6 after losing a pair of close doubles matches.
Four of the Bengals' six players from last season's meeting remain on the roster, with Hana Cho taking over the No. 1 spot in the lineup. Cho enters the match at 2-0 in the Big Sky, with Megan Lang-Gould, Lola O'Lideadha and Alexandra Arkhipov also perfect at No. 2, No. 3 and No. 6 respectively.
EASTERN WASHINGTON
Dropping its past two matches against Idaho State and Weber State, Eastern Washington fell back to .500 in the Big Sky after sweeping home matches with Montana and Montana State earlier in the month.
With three losses to Pac-12 opponents and a pair of losses to WCC programs, the Eagles have faced a challenging non-conference schedule just as the Lumberjacks have. Eastern Washington came away with just one singles in its matches with Idaho State and Weber State, as Renata Gabuzyan won in straight sets at No. 5 against the Bengals and Scout Mathews beating the Wildcats in straight sets at No. 2.
With two seasons passing since their last meeting, just one player for both the Eagles and Lumberjacks have played the opposing school during their careers. Now playing at No. 2 for Eastern Washington, Yasmin Mansouri faced the Lumberjacks as a freshman in 2019, dropping her match at No. 6. For Northern Arizona,
Ellie Millard holds a 1-1 record against Eastern Washington after facing the Eagles in 2018 and 2019.
Voted to finish third in the Big Sky after last season's division title and semifinals berth in the Big Sky Tournament, the Eagles are led by Jennifer Kida at No. 1. Kida finished the 2020-21 season 9-4 overall, including 5-1 at No. 1 to earn All-Big Sky First Team Singles honors.
Kida enters the week 1-6 overall this season, with Mansouri 1-10 at No. 2. Mathews is 4-3 this season splitting time between No. 2 and No. 3 and freshman Kenzington Mann is 6-5 between Courts 4, 5 and 6 in her first collegiate season.
The Eagles will also head to Grand Canyon while in Arizona, traveling to the Valley two days after facing the Lumberjacks.
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