FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (March 30, 2022) - Looking to jump back into the win column, the Northern Arizona Men's Tennis team will head on the road to Montana to take on Big Sky opponents in the Bobcats and Grizzlies.
In a road trip double header for NAU Men's and Women's tennis, the 'Jacks will face the Montana State Bobcats on Friday at 2 p.m. MST, after the Women's team plays the morning matchup.
The 'Jacks will then head to Missoula for a Sunday morning match against the Griz, which is set to start at 9:30 a.m. MST.
The Lumberjacks have dropped their last two matches, facing the #40 Washington State, 1-6, and conference opponent University of Idaho, 3-4. While the team is on just its second losing streak of the season, head coach Maciej Bogusz is not panicking.
"We're still where we want to be, we have to make some better decisions at the end of sets," Bogusz said.
Leading the Lumberjacks, and coming up with two singles wins in the 'Jacks last two matches, Junior Alex Groves holds an overall singles record of 15-4. Groves and doubles pairing Dominik Buzonics also lead the team in doubles play with a record of 14-6, after winning their doubles matchup against the Vandals.
Along with Groves singles win while facing Idaho, Eban Straker-Meads earned the 'Jacks a single win at the No. 2 position, improving his overall singles record to 11-6 this season. Straker-Meads has suffered just one loss since moving into the No. 2 position for NAU, which was to Washington's Ewen Lumsden in a tiebreaker.
Coming off of two Big Sky wins, the Bobcats will head into Friday's match with a 14-6 record, on top of the conference with four wins and no losses against Big Sky opponents.
MSU's No. 1 doubles pairing Jamieson Nathan and Matej Panik received their first ITA doubles ranking of the season at No. 40. The two hold an overall record of 6-1.
The 'Jacks and the Bobcats have not seen each other in action since March of 2019, where NAU held the edge and secured a 5-2 victory in Bozeman. NAU holds the advantage in the all time series facing Montana State, with a record of 8-3.
The University of Montana Grizzlies have a season record of 11-1, with the team's only loss coming to the #52 Gonzaga. Montana fell from 66 to 71 in this week's ITA National rankings, however, is coming off of two Big Sky wins.
Gustav Theilgaard was named Big Sky player of the week, with a 9-0 overall singles record, remaining undefeated for the Griz.
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