FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (April 16, 2022) – In their first home match since March 27, the Lumberjacks were firing on all cylinders as they took down the Portland State Vikings in a clean 7-0 sweep.
"The things we're working on are paying off, they're clicking, and they really took care of business today," Head Coach
Maciej Bogusz said. "There were no real hiccups on any of the courts so I was very happy to see that."
Saturday's victory improves NAU's record to 17-8 overall, and 5-2 in conference play. Following a string of tough Big Sky road matchups, the Jacks had a little room to breathe after quickly notching the doubles point.
Over on Court 2 the pairing of
Dominik Buzonics and
Alex Groves jumped out to a 1-0 lead before collecting the next 21 points in a row to secure a 6-0 win.
Playing at the No. 1 spot,
Eban Straker-Meads and
Facundo Tumosa ran into some early adversity as they found themselves down 3-0. But, they fought back one game at a time, tying it up at 3 apiece. Both sides continued to trade blows until the Jacks finally surged ahead, taking their first lead of the set 6-5 and then the following game to finish 7-5.
"Even during the match they were saying we'll put it together, we'll get it. The reason they even got to that point was a deuce point where they got lobbed against the wind and the ball bounced on the line. But they stayed in it, they stayed on course, and eventually they came back and won that one," Bogusz said.
It wasn't long until the singles points began rolling in.
After NAU earned the first singles point due to a forfeit on Court 6,
Dominik Buzonics wrapped up his contest at the No. 3 spot with Oliver Richards in blazing style, taking the first set 6-1 and the second set 6-2.
Not to be outdone by his teammate,
Alex Groves, concluded his own match at the No. 4 spot in near perfect fashion beating Sam De Vries 6-1 and 6-0 to close out the team win.
Grabbing the fifth straight point of the day for the Jacks,
Facundo Tumosa edged out Tommy Hsu at the No. 2 spot 6-1 and 6-2.
Just a few minutes later
Dani Torres locked up the No. 5 spot against Otto Holtari, prevailing through the second set 6-3 after cruising through the first 6-1.
With everyone watching
Eban Straker-Meads triumphed over Nils Plutat at the No. 1 spot 6-3 and 6-2. Similar to his doubles battle, Straker-Meads was forced to grind out the early games before he settled into his groove as Plutat kept it close.
The Jacks finish out the 2022 regular season this Saturday at home against the Idaho State Bengals at 10 a.m. MST.
"We're wrapping up the last 10 days before the championship. Idaho State has a great team. That's the team we played in the finals last year so it's going to be a very good match next Saturday," Bogusz said.
