FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (April 26, 2022) - Northern Arizona Men's Tennis is set to take on the Sacramento State Hornets in the first round of the Big Sky Championship tournament this Friday at 8 a.m. MST.
The 'Jacks return to the conference tournament as the defending champions, winning the last two titles while they eye their third consecutive Big Sky title this weekend. As the quarterfinals are set for Thursday, the semifinals will take place on Friday morning at 8 a.m. MST and the championship match will be held on Saturday morning at 8 a.m. MST.
NAU closed out the regular season with an overall record of 18-8, and a 6-2 record in Big Sky play. Three of the six non-conference losses came to ITA nationally ranked teams, while the 'Jacks saw their own national ranking honors for the first time in program history for back to back accolades.
Heading into the Big Sky Championships, Junior Alex Groves has kept a tight hold on the team's leading singles player, with an overall record of 18-6. Groves best victory came to No. 40 Washington Huskies, where he pulled out the win at the No. 5 position, earning NAU's lone point of the match.
Sophomore Maciej Ziomber is right behind Groves in overall singles, with a record of 17-6. Ziomber earned an impressive match victory at the No. 4 position this past weekend to the Idaho State Bengals, playing a vital role in NAU's 4-3 win in Flagstaff. Ziomber earned a 6-3 first set win, before a much closer second set was battled out, coming down to a 7-6 (7-5) tiebreaker.
With the highest current win streak in singles play, Dominik Buzonics holds a 17-7 singles record along with a five match win streak, primarily playing at the No. 3 position for the Lumberjacks.
Buzonics and Groves hold a 17-7 record in overall doubles to lead the team, while notably going 8-2 in their last ten matches.
The 'Jacks took on the Hornets in Sacramento back in March, earning a 5-2 victory as NAU handed the Hornets their first doubles point loss in the season. Eban Straker-Meads, Dani Torres, Ziomber, and Groves all brought in match victories at their respective positions, prefaced by the doubles point which led NAU to their first conference road victory of the season.
The Hornets are entering the tournament as the No. 6 seed, as they hold an overall record of 12-10 along with a 3-5 Big Sky record. The team is led by Mark Keki who has showcased a 15-5 record in singles play this season for the Hornets at the No. 1 position. Facundo Tumosa faced Keki in the March matchup, dropping in the tiebreaker (5-7, 6-4, 10-12).
Keki and doubles pairing Mate Voros have only dropped one match through the entire season, as they lead the Hornets in doubles with a 19-1 record. The pairing remains undefeated in Big Sky play.
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