MISSOULA, Mont. (April 2, 2022) – Down 2-0 in the match, the Northern Arizona women's tennis team strung together three consecutive singles wins and sophomore
Ava Neyestani clinched the come-from-behind victory on Saturday as the Lumberjacks edged Montana, 4-3, at PEAK Racquet Club.
The victory was the sixth straight for the Lumberjacks (7-7, 5-1 Big Sky) over the Grizzlies (6-13, 1-6 Big Sky) going back to 2016. To get there though, NAU needed to dig deep after Montana gained the initial advantage in doubles.
After sophomore
Gina Dittmann and Neyestani captured their seventh consecutive doubles victory, 6-3, over Alex Walker and Ivayla Mitkova on court 3, the Grizzlies responded with wins on the other two courts to snag the doubles point.
The Grizzlies, primed for the upset bid, then made it a 2-0 match lead as Maria Goheen defeated junior
Elinor Beazley, 6-0, 6-2, in the first completed singles match on court 4. From there, NAU's top three players in the lineup went to work to get the Lumberjacks back into the match.
Dittmann began the comeback with her 10th straight singles win, improving to 11-2 this season in the process, with a hard-fought win on court 1. After Dittmann claimed the first set by a 6-4 score over Grace Haugen, Dittmann dominated a second-set tiebreaker to finish off the sweep, 7-6 (7-2), and get the Lumberjacks on the board.
Freshman
Sofia Markova evened up the match with a win at No. 3 singles, riding a first-set tiebreaking shutout to her seventh consecutive singles victory. Markova's 7-6 (7-0), 6-4 win over Lauren Dunlap tied up the score at 2-2, preceding a critical win by the reigning Big Sky Women's Tennis Player of the Week, junior
Mimi Bland, on court 2.
Bland and Olivia Oosterbaan split the first two sets with each posting a dominant performance, which set the stage for a decisive third set with the team score knotted up. Oosterbaan, who had spent her last five matches at No. 1 in the Grizzlies' lineup, appeared to have the advantage in the third set up 5-4 before Bland came roaring back.
The third-year Lumberjack wound up rolling through the next three games to emerge with a 6-2, 3-6, 7-5 victory that not only put her team ahead, 3-2, but also got her back in the win column following a three-set loss on Friday to Montana State.
With just four courts available at PEAK Racquet Club, the final two matches in the singles order could not start until two matches were completed. The Grizzlies temporarily halted the Lumberjacks' momentum as Mitkova handed freshman
Laura Duhl a straight-set loss at No. 5, which left the match at No. 6 to decide the match winner.
There, Neyestani – winner of her last four singles matches – and Walker – winner of three of her last four – matched up. Neyestani claimed the first set easily, 6-3, and then held a 5-3 second-set advantage before Walker came charging back. Walker won the next three games to pull within a game of sending the match to a third set.
However, Neyestani forced a tiebreak at 6-6 and proceeded to rip through the tiebreaker to complete NAU's rally with a 7-6 (7-3) set win.
NAU has now won five consecutive matches, all coming in league play, and are tied with Weber State at the top of league standings. The Wildcats, who handed the Lumberjacks their only Big Sky loss on Feb. 25, suffered their first conference loss on Saturday, 4-3, at Sacramento State. The two teams are currently tied with a 5-1 conference mark.
The Lumberjacks return home for their final two matches in Flagstaff this season over the next two weeks. NAU hosts Idaho next Sunday, April 10, at 10 a.m. at the Aquatic and Tennis Complex where it has won 21 straight matches overall and 29 straight versus Big Sky opponents.
For updated scores and coverage of the NAU women's Tennis team during the spring season, follow the team on
Twitter,
Instagram and
Facebook.
Match Results:
Doubles:
Grace Haugen/Lauren Dunlap (UM) def.
Mimi Bland/
Annabel Davis (NAU), 6-4*
Olivia Oosterbaan/Maria Goheen (UM) def.
Laura Duhl/
Sofia Markova (NAU), 6-3
Gina Dittmann/Ava Neyestani (NAU) def. Alex Walker/Ivayla Mitkova (UM), 6-3
*Clinched Doubles Point | Order of Finish: (3, 2, 1)
Singles:
Gina Dittmann (NAU) def. Grace Haugen (UM), 6-4, 7-6 (7-2)
Mimi Bland (NAU) def. Olivia Oosterbaan (UM), 6-2, 3-6, 7-5
Sofia Markova (NAU) def. Lauren Dunlap (UM), 7-6 (7-0), 6-4
Maria Goheen (UM) def.
Elinor Beazley (NAU), 6-0, 6-2
Ivayla Mitkova (UM) def.
Laura Duhl (NAU), 6-2, 6-3
Ava Neyestani (NAU) def. Alex Walker (UM), 6-3, 7-6 (7-3)**
**Clinched Match | Order of Finish: (4, 1, 3, 2, 5, 6)
