FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (January 10, 2023) – For a fifth consecutive season, the Northern Arizona women's tennis team is considered the favorite for the Big Sky Conference Championship.
Returning five players from the 2021-22 Big Sky Conference Championship team, including four with All-Big Sky and Big Sky Women's Tennis Player of the Week honors during their careers, the Lumberjacks earned six of nine first-place votes in the 2022-23 Big Sky Women's Tennis Preseason Coaches' Poll.. Northern Arizona has won three consecutive Big Sky Tournament Championships as well as six consecutive regular season titles. Dating back to the 2016 season, Northern Arizona is 51-3 against Big Sky opponents in the regular season.
Following a 13-4 debut season for the Lumberjacks,
Sofia Markova returns for Northern Arizona as an All-Big Sky First Team honoree in singles play. Markova closed out the 2022 spring season with an 11-match win streak and finished 7-1 against Big Sky opponents in singles.
Mimi Bland earned All-Big Sky Second Team honors in singles and First Team honors in doubles for the 2021-22 season in addition to First Team honors in both during the 2020-21 season. Junior
Ava Neyestani finished the 2021-22 season with a 7-1 record in Big Sky singles play and a 7-0 record in conference doubles play, earning honorable mention in singles and All-Big Sky First Team in doubles.
Elinor Beazley, an honorable mention in doubles in 2020-21, and
Laura Duhl round out the returners, with both players earning singles victories at the Big Sky Tournament.
Lumberjacks head coach
Ewa Bogusz, a two-time Big Sky Conference Coach of the Year, added three players to the roster during the offseason.
Ana Karen Guadiana Campos arrived from Western Michigan Broncos of the Mid-American Conference where she finished the 2021-22 season with a 10-14 record in singles and a 14-10 record in doubles. Guadiana Campos earned MAC Doubles Team of the Week three times during her tenure with the Broncos,
Patrycja Niewiadomska and
Daryna Shoshyna join the Lumberjacks from Poland and Ukraine respectively as freshmen. Niewiadomska was a multi-time medalist at the Polish Team Championships while Shoshyna earned multiple doubles titles during her juniors career.
While the Lumberjacks collected six first-place votes and 62 points total, the Weber State Wildcats finished just behind with two first-place votes and 56 total points. Ending Northern Arizona's 13-match win streak within the conference, Weber State won 4-3 in Ogden last February. The Wildcats and Lumberjacks faced off in the conference title match for the second straight year, with Northern Arizona emerging with the 4-1 victory in Phoenix.
With coaches unable to vote for their own teams, the Sacramento State Hornets garnered the final first-place vote and landed third in the poll with 44 points, just ahead of fourth-place Idaho State's 41 points. The Hornets reached the Big Sky semifinals last season, beating Portland State 4-0 in the quarterfinals. Sacramento State then fell to Weber State 4-2 in the semifinals.
Idaho State also reached the semifinals last season, beating Idaho 4-1 in the quarterfinals before being eliminated by Northern Arizona 4-0.
Montana landed fifth in the poll with 32 points and Portland State finished sixth with 28 points to round out the projected Big Sky Conference Tournament teams. Idaho and Montana State tied for seventh with 22 points and Eastern Washington rounded out the poll in ninth with 17 points.
The Lumberjacks will host the other two teams that earned first-place votes, opening their conference schedule with the Wildcats on Feb. 25 and closing out the regular season against Sacramento State on April 16. Northern Arizona also hosts Montana State and Montana on April 1 and 2 respectively.
Northern Arizona's toughest conference road match based on the poll results will come on April 9 at Idaho State. The Lumberjacks will conclude most of their conference road matches in an eight-day stretch of March, with a trip to Portland State on March 4 followed by matches at Idaho and Eastern Washington on March 10 and 11.
For updated scores and coverage of the NAU women's tennis team during the spring season, follow the team on
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2023 Big Sky Conference Women's Tennis Preseason Coaches' Poll
