FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (March 30, 2022) – Riding a three-match win streak following a pair of victories in Flagstaff, the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks begin the second half of their Big Sky Conference schedule in Montana this weekend.
The Montana State Bobcats (5-13, 2-3 Big Sky) host Northern Arizona (5-7, 3-1) on Friday in Bozeman before the Lumberjacks travel to Missoula to face the Montana Grizzlies (5-12, 0-5) on Saturday afternoon. Northern Arizona enters the weekend on a winning streak against both programs, beating Montana State in 12 consecutive meetings dating back to 2009 and Montana in five straight matches since 2016.
Both the Bobcats and Grizzlies are coming off 4-3 losses at Weber State, the Big Sky Conference leader, last weekend after taking a week off. Montana State has dropped six of its past seven matches while Montana has lost nine of its past 10 since mid-February.
Five Lumberjacks enter the weekend on winning streaks in singles play, led by
Gina Dittmann's eight-match win streak and 9-2 singles record overall this spring.
Sofia Markova is on a five-match win streak with a 7-4 record, followed by
Mimi Bland's 6-2 record and four-match win streak. The five players hold a combined 17-2 record in conference matches this season, led by undefeated records for Dittmann, Bland and
Ava Neyestani.
Neyestani and
Laura Duhl also won both singles matches during the past week at home, holding a three and two-match win streak respectively. Pairing together on Court 3, Neyestani and Dittmann are 5-0 in doubles across the past three weeks while Bland and
Annabel Davis have won three straight matches together on Court 1.
MONTANA STATE
Voted to finish seventh in the Big Sky, the Bobcats dropped their past two matches against Weber State and Portland since a 4-3 victory at Portland State on March 11. Four of Montana State's five wins have come by a 4-3 score, in addition to a 6-1 win over Seattle on Jan. 28.
Northern Arizona last faced Montana State on April 19, 2019, a 7-0 victory for the Lumberjacks. With three true freshmen and four sophomores on the roster, no current Bobcat has faced the Lumberjacks and just one member of Northern Arizona's roster remains from the last meeting in 2019.
Last season, Montana State finished the season 1-10 overall and 0-4 in the Big Sky. Beating Montana 4-3 to open its Big Sky schedule this season, with Jazmin Lerman and Andrea Cuquerella winning both of their singles matches in Montana State's two conference victories this season.
MONTANA
Falling to Northern Arizona 7-0 on Feb. 27, 2020, just a few weeks before the season came to an early end, Montana returns four players from the lineup in its most recent meeting with the Lumberjacks.
Lauren Dunlap, who enters the week 9-7 overall and on a three-match win streak, faced Northern Arizona in both 2019 and 2020. Claudia Reguant, Montana's primary No. 6 this season, is the only Grizzly to hold a win over the Lumberjacks in singles play with a victory in 2019 in addition to a 6-2, 6-3 loss to
Elinor Beazley in 2020.
Olivia Oosterbaan and Maria Goheen dropped their singles matches to the Lumberjacks in 2020, but hold the primary No. 2 and No. 4 singles spots in the lineup for the Grizzlies this season. Freshman Grace Haugen is Montana's No. 1 in singles this season and sits at 6-6 overall this season.
Voted fifth in the Big Sky Conference Preseason Poll, Montana finished 6-6 overall in 2020-21 with a 1-3 record in conference play.
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