TEMPE, Ariz. (January 19, 2023) – Opening up their regular season against the No. 19 Arizona State Sun Devils, the Northern Arizona women's tennis team finished the day with a pair of closely contested sets in singles play.
Laura Duhl and
Patrycja Niewiadomska both battled at No. 4 and No. 6 respectively. Duhl, taking on Arizona State's Marianna Argyrokastriti bounced back from a 6-2 first-set loss. Ranked No. 84 in the nation, Argyrokastriti finally pulled out the victory with a 7-5 second set. Niewiadomska fell to Rachel Hanford 6-1 in the opening set before pushing the Sun Devil junior in the second set before falling 7-5.
The Lumberjacks took on four nationally ranked players in Thursday's match, with
Sofia Markova falling to No. 69 Giulia Morlet 6-1, 6-3 on Court 1,
Ana Karen Guadiana Campos dropping her match on Court 2 6-2, 6-2 to No. 74 Domenika Turkovic and
Daryna Shoshyna losing to No. 95 Patricija Spaka 6-0, 6-3 at No. 5.
Ava Neyestani rounded out singles play at No. 3 with a 6-2, 6-2 loss to Chelsea Fontenel.
Opening the day with doubles, Duhl paired with
Elinor Beazley on Court 1 against the No. 9-ranked pairing of Turkovic and Spaka. After falling behind 3-0 to the Sun Devils, Beazley and Duhl answered back with two straight victories. Coming within one game of a tie, the Lumberjacks' top pairing ultimately fell 6-2.
Markova and Shoshyna also produced a tight match at No. 3, winning the first game and trailing just 3-2 before the match was left unfinished at 4-2. Arizona State opened doubles with Morlet and Sedona Gallaher winning 6-0 at No. 2 against Guadiana and Neyestani.
The Lumberjacks (0-1) return to action next Friday as they host the Grand Canyon Lopes (0-2) on Jan. 27 at 11 a.m.
For updated scores and coverage of the NAU Women's Tennis team during the spring season, follow the team on
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