FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (April 10, 2022) – Even with a doubles match in hand from the start and a singles match soon to follow, the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks did not come out complacent as they looked to extend their home win streak.
Sweeping through doubles play to lock up the first point of the day, the Lumberjacks (8-7, 6-1 Big Sky) soon tacked on a pair of singles sweeps to defeat the Idaho Vandals (4-10, 2-3) 6-1 Sunday afternoon at the Aquatic and Tennis Complex in Flagstaff. The win pushed Northern Arizona to a 22-match win streak in Flagstaff, and 30 straight at home against Big Sky opponents, with just one home contest remaining this season.
Additionally, the Lumberjacks did so back on their own outdoor tennis courts with less than three weeks remaining before the Big Sky Conference Tournament at the Phoenix Tennis Center in Phoenix, Ariz.
Back outside after four consecutive indoor matches between a pair in Flagstaff and the two matches in Montana last week, Northern Arizona held an early advantage over Idaho as the Vandals dressed just five players. With
Laura Duhl and
Sofia Markova winners on Court 3 by default, the Lumberjacks needed just one win from its top two doubles pairings.
Moved up to No. 2 after seven wins at No. 3 together this season,
Gina Dittmann and
Ava Neyestani soon clinched the match's first point. Improving to 8-0 together this season, Dittmann and Neyestani earned a 6-1 victory over Idaho's Saffron Dowse and Nicole Horacek at No. 2.
Elinor Beazley and
Annabel Davis, paired together for the first time this spring, completed the sweep a few minutes later with a 6-3 win at No. 1 against Ke Syuan Jhang and Jayanne Palma on Court 1.
"I was really happy with how we started the match. Coming into doubles, we just took care of business," said Lumberjacks head coach
Ewa Bogusz. "I feel like it's not easy to play when you have that third match default and they knew they needed just one. Sometimes it can put even more pressure on the players, but they were straight to business and took care of their game."
Once again carrying over her success from singles play and continuing her dominant run in Flagstaff, Neyestani wasted no time in securing the first singles win for the Lumberjacks.
Beating Horacek 6-0, 6-2, Neyestani improved to 12-0 in Flagstaff with eight sets in those wins finishing 6-0.
With Neyestani extending the third-longest singles win streak on the roster to six matches and Davis' win by default on Court 6, Markova found herself in position to lock up the team victory early on in singles play. Playing at No. 2 for just the second time this season, Markova pulled ahead 4-1 against Melissa Huchet in both sets for a 6-1, 6-3 win to improve to 10-4 this season and 6-1 against Big Sky opponents.
With Markova now on an eight-match win streak, Dittmann too extended her singles win streak to 11 consecutive matches and a 12-2 record overall this season.
Trailing 3-2 early in the first set, Dittmann battled with Jhang and evened the set at 3-3, 4-4 and finally 6-6 to force a tiebreaker. After edging out Jhang 7-4 in the tiebreaker to take the first set, Dittmann trailed 2-1 in the second set before winning five consecutive games for a 7-6 (7-4), 6-2 victory on Court 1.
Now 27-3 in her singles career for the Lumberjacks, including a 26-3 record at No. 1, Dittmann currently holds the program record for career singles win percentage overall as well as at No. 1 specifically.
With Dittmann's win streak extended alongside Neyestani and Markova's wins, just Beazley and Duhl remained at No. 3 and No. 4 respectively. While Beazley was forced into a deciding third-set tiebreaker after winning her first set 6-3, Duhl bounced back from a 6-4 loss in the opener to force a third with a 6-1 win in her second.
Facing Dowse at No. 4, Duhl's tiebreak remained close throughout before the freshman ultimately fell 10-8 for the Vandals' lone win of the match. As for Beazley, a 6-4 setback in the second set against Palma led to an exciting, back-and-forth tiebreaker to conclude the day.
Tied four times early on with Palma, Beazley finally broke free with five straight points after trailing 4-3. Holding a four-point advantage, Beazley held off Palma's comeback attempt after the Vandals scored four of five points herself.
Looking to avoid a fifth tie in the tiebreaker, Beazley came through with the 10-8 win to close out the day.
The Lumberjacks will now look to play their final two matches of the regular season outdoors as they continue to prepare for the conference tournament.
"It could have been windy. It wasn't bad, but we were prepared for the conditions," Bogusz said. "Next week, we can hopefully play outdoors as well and then we have GCU which will be nice preparation for the Phoenix tournament. We are just mentally ready for tough conditions no matter what comes our way."
Winners of six straight, the longest win streak in the Big Sky Conference, the Lumberjacks host the Portland State Vikings on Saturday, April 16 as part of a doubleheader with the men's program. Celebrating their reunion weekend with alumni invited to spend the weekend in Flagstaff, the men's team will face the Vikings at 10 a.m. followed by the women at 2 p.m.
With just the one conference match remaining and Northern Arizona holding a victory over third-place Idaho State, the Lumberjacks have effectively clinched one of the two byes in the Big Sky Conference Tournament. The quarterfinals will begin Thursday, April 28 as the No. 3 seed faces the No. 6 seed while the No. 4 and No. 5 face off, with Friday's semifinals leaving the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds to face the winners.
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