FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (April 14, 2022) – With a bye into the Big Sky Conference semifinals already clinched following last Sunday's victory over the Idaho Vandals, the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks are looking to stack on track in their preparation for the postseason.
Just two regular season matches remain, a home finale against the Portland State Vikings on Saturday at 2 p.m. and a trip to Phoenix to face the Grand Canyon Lopes on Monday at 11 a.m. A win against the Vikings would lock up a share of the Big Sky regular season championship, the sixth consecutive season Northern Arizona will have either won the title outright or finished with at least a share.
The Lumberjacks (8-7, 6-1 Big Sky) enter the week on a six-match winning streak, the longest in the Big Sky, and will enter the tournament as the No. 2 seed. With third-place Idaho State already at three losses and Weber State holding the head-to-head tiebreaker with Northern Arizona, the Lumberjacks will stick at No. 2 whether they finish 7-1 or 6-2 in the Big Sky. Northern Arizona also enters Saturday's match on a 22-match win streak in Flagstaff, with 30 straight wins against Big Sky opponents.
A trio of Lumberjacks rank at or near the top of the Big Sky in singles play this season, with
Gina Dittmann on an 11-match win streak in singles, followed by eight straight wins for
Sofia Markova and six for
Ava Neyestani.
Dittmann and Neyestani, both still undefeated in Flagstaff during their collegiate careers, are 7-0 in the Big Sky this season while Markova is 6-1 and
Mimi Bland is 4-1. Dittmann and Neyestani are also 6-0 against the conference in doubles play, entering the final regular season week with an 8-0 record this year.
Saturday's match against the Vikings will be the second half of a doubleheader with the Northern Arizona men's tennis team, who will begin the alumni reunion weekend at 10 a.m. against Portland State as well.
PORTLAND STATE
In a battle to finish among the Big Sky's top six teams and receive a berth in the conference tournament, the Portland State Vikings (8-10, 3-4) rank among five teams with three or four Big Sky losses.
Beating the Eastern Washington Eagles 5-2 on Sunday in Portland following a two-week break, the Vikings arrive in Flagstaff for their final regular season match. The Vikings last played in Flagstaff during the 2019 season and have dropped seven consecutive meetings with the Lumberjacks. The two programs faced off in the Big Sky Conference semifinals last May in Phoenix, Ariz. with Northern Arizona earning a 4-0 victory en route to the conference title.
Capu Sanoner, 6-4 overall this season with all 10 matches coming at No. 1, fell to Dittmann 6-3, 6-3 in the tournament. Sanoner, an All-Big Sky First Team selection in singles last spring, enters on a three-match win streak. Alongside doubles partner Nika Beukers, Sanoner is also 11-2 on Court 1 this season.
Newcomer Mariajose Hernandez Coronado is 9-7 this season, leading the team in singles wins, while playing primarily at No. 5 and No. 6. Beukers trails only Hernandez Coronado with an 8-8 singles record playing on five different courts in singles this season.
Hernandez Coronado and Emily Rees, another returner from last season's semifinal run, hold a 12-2 record in doubles play, with an 8-1 mark at No. 2 and a 4-1 record at No. 1 this season.
Portland State was voted to finish fourth in the Big Sky Conference Preseason Poll and holds wins over Montana, Idaho and Eastern Washington this season.
GRAND CANYON
Looking to get a feel for the Phoenix weather a little more than a week before the conference tournament begins just two miles east, Northern Arizona will face Grand Canyon (7-8, 3-0 WAC) in the regular season finale for both teams.
Having dropped six straight matches to the Lumberjacks, including a 4-0 loss to conclude the 2021 regular season last April, the Lopes defeated Chicago State on Thursday and will host New Mexico State on Saturday before the Lumberjacks arrive on Monday.
Grand Canyon has won four straight, beating Eastern Washington, Seattle and Dixie State before remaining idle for 12 days ahead of its win against Chicago State. During their 3-8 start to the spring season, the Lopes fell to Sacramento State, New Mexico and Idaho State, a trio of opponents the Lumberjacks have beaten this season.
A trio of matches were left unfinished in last season's meeting, including a battle between Dittmann and Grand Canyon's Natasha Puehse on Court 1. The two may face off again this season after each taking a set in their unfinished match last season, as Puehse holds an 8-5 record at No. 1 this year.
Grand Canyon's other win leaders in singles play, Fabienne Schmidt and Santa Strombacha, hold a 9-3 record at No. 2 and an 8-5 record at No. 3 after transferring in during the offseason.
Puehse and Strombacha lead the Lopes with a 10-2 record in doubles with all 12 matches coming on Court 1. Schmidt and Autum Prudhomme, who fell to Neyestani 6-1, 6-4 in singles last season, hold an 8-5 doubles record at No. 2 this season.
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