FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (January 27, 2023) – Extending their home win streak to 24 consecutive matches, the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks outlasted the Grand Canyon Lopes with a 4-3 victory Friday afternoon in the Aquatic and Tennis Center.
After coming away with the doubles point thanks to wins on Court 2 and Court 3, dominant wins for
Patrycja Niewiadomska and
Sofia Markova put the Lumberjacks up 3-0 before
Ava Neyestani produced the clinching points at No. 4.
Down 1-2 at No. 1 and No. 2, the Lumberjacks needed to battle back to earn the doubles point as Markova and
Daryna Shoshyna cruised at No. 3 with a pair of break point victories in the set's final three games. With a 6-2 victory on Court 3, the Lumberjacks needed one more pairing to come up with a victory.
While
Elinor Beazley and
Laura Duhl won on serve to cut Grand Canyon's lead to 4-3, the No. 1 pairing eventually fell 6-3 to Natasha Puehse and Santa Strombacha. Neyestani and
Ana Karen Guadiana Campos then broke serve for a 4-3 lead at No. 2 and held on their final two serves for the victory.
"We had a slow start, that's something we said we are going to focus on moving forward," said Lumberjacks head coach
Ewa Bogusz. "But it was good to see Ana and Ava just go to basics and use their serves to get through."
Up 40-0, Guadiana finished off the match with an ace to clinch the victory and send the Lumberjacks into singles with a 1-0 advantage.
Earning four first-set victories, Northern Arizona took control of the match early on in singles play. Niewiadomska wasted little time in putting the Lumberjacks ahead 2-0 with her 6-0, 6-1 victory at No. 6 against Aline Buhr. Niewiadomska, who fell 6-1, 7-5 against Arizona State last week, built on her strong finish to her spring debut with the impressive win against Buhr.
"I saw her pushing the girl back and just being confident," Bogusz said. "She served well and was just able to translate her work in practice into the match, and for a freshman to do it in her first match at home it is pretty big."
Facing Puehse, the two-time WAC Player of the Year, Markova rolled to a 6-0, 6-1 victory in just her second career match at No. 1 after primarily playing No. 2 and No. 3 last season. The win extended Markova's own home win streak, having finished last season 5-0 at home in singles and 2-0 in doubles.
"Sofia definitely took advantage of playing at home, and brought the pace to her," Bogusz said. "She struggled with that and took care of business."
Neyestani clinched the team victory at No. 4, having taken the early lead in the match with a 6-2 opening set. Challenged by Dania Deaifi in the second set, Neyestani held onto her lead for the straight-set victory as the junior turned an early 2-1 advantage into a 4-3 lead before closing out the match with victories in the final two games.
While Grand Canyon earned a 6-2, 6-2 win at No. 5, the Lopes' other two wins came in three sets. Beazley came back from a 6-3 defeat in her first set against Anali Kocevar at No. 3 with a 6-1 second-set victory while Guadiana won 7-5 in the first set at No. 2 against Strombacha. The Lopes ultimately came away with both wins, beating the Lumberjacks at No. 3 with a 6-1 third set and at No. 2 with a 6-2 second set and a 10-6 win in the deciding third-set tiebreaker.
Back on the road for the next month, Northern Arizona will play five matches on the road before hosting on back-to-back days at the end of February. Scheduled for three matches in Tucson next weekend, Northern Arizona will face Florida Atlantic, Fresno State and Arizona between Friday, Feb. 3 and Saturday, Feb. 4.
For updated scores and coverage of the NAU Women's Tennis team during the spring season, follow the team on
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Match Results:
Doubles:
- Natasha Puehse/Santa Strombacha (GCU) def. Elinor Beazley/Laura Duhl (NAU), 6-3
- Ana Karen Guadiana Campos/Ava Neyestani (NAU) def. Anali Kocevar/Madeline Lamoreaux (GCU), 6-4*
- Sofia Markova/Daryna Shoshyna (NAU) def. Hebe Toyos/Dania Deaifi (GCU), 6-2
*Clinched Doubles Point | Order of Finish: (3, 2, 1)
Singles:
- Sofia Markova (NAU) def. Natasha Puehse (GCU), 6-0, 6-1
- Santa Strombacha (GCU) def. Ana Karen Guadiana Campos (NAU), 5-7, 6-2, 1-0 (10-6)
- Anali Kocevar (GCU) def. Elinor Beazley (NAU), 6-3, 1-6, 6-1
- Ava Neyestani (NAU) def. Dania Deaifi (GCU), 6-2, 6-3*
- Madeline Lamoreaux (GCU) def. Laura Duhl (NAU), 6-2, 6-2
- Patrycja Niewiadomska (NAU) def. Aline Buhr (GCU), 6-0, 6-1
*Clinched Match | Order of Finish: (6, 1, 5, 4, 3, 2)
