FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (April 8, 2022) – With less than three weeks remaining before the opening round of the Big Sky Tournament in Phoenix, Ariz., the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks are within reach of clinching a top two finish in the conference standings.
Now tied for first place in the Big Sky with the Weber State Wildcats at 5-1 in conference play, just three schools remain with one loss and just one could remain following this weekend. The Idaho Vandals (4-8, 2-1 Big Sky) will face Northern Arizona (7-7, 5-1) for the first time since the 2019 Big Sky Championship match on Sunday at 10 a.m. in the Aquatic and Tennis Center, but will first make a stop in Ogden, Utah to face the Wildcats (11-8, 5-1) on Friday.
A win by the Vandals followed by a victory for the Lumberjacks would push Northern Arizona into sole possession of first place with just one conference match remaining. Meanwhile, the Wildcats close out their conference schedule this weekend, facing fourth-place Idaho State (10-5, 3-2) on Sunday in Pocatello, Idaho.
The Lumberjacks enter the week on a five-match win streak, the longest in the Big Sky, following a battle with the Montana Grizzlies in Missoula this past Saturday. Thanks to
Ava Neyestani's 6-3, 7-6 (7-3) victory on Court 6, Northern Arizona broke the 3-3 tie and returned home with the 4-3 victory.
Neyestani extended her singles win streak to five consecutive matches with the victory, as well as a 6-0 record against Big Sky opponents and earned the Big Sky Conference Women's Tennis Player of the Week.
Gina Dittmann also improved to 6-0 in the Big Sky, and 11-2 overall with a 10-match win streak this past weekend while
Sofia Markova won her seventh straight singles match and moved to 5-1 in the conference. Neyestani and Dittmann also won their seventh straight doubles match, improving to 7-0 overall and 5-0 in the conference.
Winners in three of the past four meetings with Idaho, Northern Arizona will face an entirely new lineup from the most recent meeting. The programs faced off twice in 2019, with the Lumberjacks winning 4-3 during the regular season in Flagstaff before sweeping the Vandals 4-0 in the title match.
With one freshman, two sophomores and one junior, Idaho's lone senior was not on the roster when the two programs last met.
IDAHO
Idle since March 21, the Vandals enter the week having dropped four straight since winning three consecutive matches in early March. The run includes Idaho's first conference loss, a 4-3 final score at the Portland State Vikings.
Idaho is 0-7 on the road this season including losses to Washington State, Gonzaga, No. 35 Oregon and Boise State. However, the Vandals opened conference play with a pair of home wins over Montana State and Montana, 5-2 and 7-0 respectively.
Senior Melissa Huchet earned Big Sky Women's Tennis Player of the Week during the sweep of the Montana schools earlier this season, as she went 4-0 at No. 2 singles and No. 2 doubles in the two victories.
A pair of Vandals enter the week on short winning streaks despite the team's four-match losing streak, with Ke Syuan Jhang sitting at 7-3 overall and 6-2 at No. 3 with a two-match win streak and Nicole Horacek at 5-5 at No. 6 on a three-match win streak.
Idaho was voted to finish sixth in the Big Sky Conference preseason poll, with six teams set to reach the conference tournament at the end of April. Returning to its traditional format after inviting just four teams last season, the conference tournament will hold its quarterfinals on Thursday, April 28 with the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds receiving byes into the semifinals on Friday, April 29. The championship match will be held on Saturday, April 30 at Phoenix Tennis Center.
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